BETTER ENGLISH FOR A BETTER FUTURE An introduction to teaching GCSE English Language (8700) to post-16 resit students
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Hello Welcome to this overview of AQA s Post-16 GCSE English Language resits. It contains everything you need to know about the specification plus our support and resources to help your get to know your students quickly, see their knowledge gaps and prepare to resit within a year. To find out more about post-16 resits, please visit: aqa.org.uk/post16english BETTER ENGLISH FOR A BETTER FUTURE RESITS ENGLISH GCSE 16+ 3
A SNAPSHOT Since 2017 students aged 16 to 19 who wish to continue into Further Education (FE), but who received a grade 3 (including grade D or below in the June 2017 resit of the outgoing English specification), must resit the GCSE. Those who received 1-2 (including E or below) can choose an approved stepping stone qualification, such as Functional Skills English Level 1 and 2 (4720, 4725). This is necessary in order to secure funding for their chosen FE course. Resit opportunities for the outgoing and new specifications Summer 2017 was the final opportunity to resit the outgoing GCSE English specifications. After this point, students will have to resit the new GCSE English Language (8700) qualification. We know that many of you are already teaching our new qualifications. Our new GCSE English Language (8700) qualification, with the new 9-1 grading, will also be available to post-16 students resitting from summer 2017. From September 2015, GCSE English qualifications have changed: In English Language: Students must respond to 19 th, 20 th and 21 st century texts in every exam series. Students must compare at least two unseen texts. Spoken language (previously called speaking and listening) will still be assessed but will not count towards exam results. 20% assessment weighting will be for spelling, sentence structure, punctuation and grammar. 4
At AQA we share your love of English (and your commitment to teaching and learning). We want you to feel inspired to teach creative and engaging classes that will inspire your students. As the market leader in our field we ve worked with teachers and subject associations such as the National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) and the National Association of Advisers in English (NAAE) to create the new GCSE English Language (8700) specification that engages students and provides them with the opportunity to achieve their best. FOR Find out about our vision for GCSE English at aqa.org.uk/english-films 5
WHY CHOOSE AQA FOR YOUR GCSE ENGLISH RESIT STUDENTS Building a better future We ve designed our specification to assess students skills in English at all levels, providing questions that are accessible to all. Here, we highlight some of the things that we think will support you and your post-16 GCSE resit students. Two paper structure Students will be assessed over 3 hour 30 minutes, split equally across two papers, giving them time to express their true abilities and achieve their best possible grade. Creating an assessment journey We ve designed our exam papers to take your students on an assessment journey. This is designed to build confidence in your students at the start of the assessment with more familiar and accessible questions making the experience a more comfortable and engaging one. We ve also looked at the structure of our papers to better support a wide range of student abilities. 6
Distinctive identities for each paper By creating identities for each paper you will have a consistent approach as to what will be assessed and how we will assess it. This will allow students to prepare with confidence for the assessment ahead. Paper 1 will assess a literature fiction text to develop reading skills. Paper 2 will assess a non-fiction and literary non-fiction text in order to focus on writers attitudes and viewpoints. Making a range of texts accessible The types of texts we have to include in our specifications need to be high quality. So we have thought carefully about how to support all abilities. All students will benefit from the introduction of reading time at the start of each examination. Paper 1 will focus on a single text, to act as a lead-in to the examination. Paper 2 builds on this with two linked texts on the same topic. The focus in each paper will be on what the texts are about and how they are written and won t require any prior knowledge or understanding outside of this. Reading texts as a support for writing With reading and writing assessment having an equal weighting of 50%, each student will need content and ideas to write about. So we ve designed both papers to ensure the reading sources act as a bridge to each specific writing task. Paper 1 s creative text leads to a creative writing task. Paper 2 s texts lead to the students writing about their own views on that topic. This helps to create two balanced papers of equal demand. Spoken language study The new spoken language study will be a separate endorsement to the qualification. All the exam boards will apply similar levels of moderation for this endorsement. 7
SPECIFICATION AT A GLANCE Paper 1: Explorations in creative reading and writing Section A: Reading one literature fiction text Section A (40 marks) (25%) one single text questions: - one short form response - two longer responses - one extended response Section B: Writing descriptive or narrative writing Assessed 1 hour 45 minutes written exam 80 marks 50% of GCSE Section B (40 marks) (25%) one extended writing question Paper 2: Writers viewpoints and perspectives Section A: Reading one non-fiction text and one literary non-fiction text Section A (40 marks) (25%) two linked texts questions: - one short form response - two longer responses - one extended response Section B: Writing writing to present a viewpoint Assessed 1 hour 45 minutes written exam 80 marks 50% of GCSE Section B (40 marks) (25%) one extended writing question Controlled assessment: Spoken language (AO7 AO9) presenting responding to questions and feedback use of Standard English 8 Assessed teacher set throughout course marked by teachers separate endorsement (0% weighting of GCSE)
GCSE POST-16 SUPPORT AND RESOURCES By putting students at the heart of everything we do, we ve created resources to help you teach post-16 resits. These resources will enable you to get to know your students quickly, see their skills gaps and prepare them to resit their GCSE English Language. Here are just some of them. Planning Use our five top tips to get you started. Our student journey diagram will help show you the routes available to your students based on their original result. For those teaching over one year we ve created a dedicated post-16 one year teaching plan to help you prepare your course. Using our range of specimen papers will help you understand the skills gaps to focus your teaching on certain areas that are required. Teaching and Assessment To help you embed some of the reading, writing and spoken language skills needed for GCSE English Language we ve created a resource to help develop your students English Language skills. It suggests learning activities that support students in developing some of the skills needed. An assessment objectives grid will help you understand what skills are assessed in each paper and their weighting. To help your students understand the timings and marks allocated to each question we ve summarised the suggested time they should spend on each question. KS3 assessment packs will help you reinforce the basic skills You can use our sample reading resources to prepare your students for the unseen text section of the exams. There is guidance on the standard expected at each spoken language mark scheme level. Plus on eaqa (Secure Key Materials): specimen question papers and mark schemes. Additional sample questions. Use our students answers and examiner commentaries to understand what examiners are looking for. Our guidance for confident marking helps explain how a level of response mark scheme works, ensuring you know how to mark your students work confidently and consistently. All these resources and many more can be found at aqa.org.uk/post16english 9
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ASSESSMENT YOU CAN TRUST You need to be confident that your students work is marked fairly, consistently and reliably. That s our priority too. Getting the marking right The quality of marking is at the heart of our assessment procedures and we do everything to ensure we are able to publish the right results first time. In order to achieve this we recruit high calibre examiners, train and standardise them to a high standard and monitor their marking through rigorous quality control processes. Clear, consistent and well-structured question papers ensure students understand precisely what is being asked. Exemplar materials with student answers and commentary from our most senior examiners help you understand how the mark scheme is applied. Understanding assessment To show exactly how we award grades and give you a better understanding of how assessment works, we ve produced a short animated film. Go to: aqa.org.uk/explaining-assessment We also explain how a specification is created and how a question paper is created. You can analyse your students results with Enhanced Results Analysis (ERA), our free online tool. Register at aqa.org.uk/era-register While we are providing everything you need to deliver our specification, we recognise that there will be times when you want a little bit more. We also have a range of paid for resources to help with your teaching. Teachit online resources developed by teachers for teachers. Textbooks Collins, Cambridge and OUP have produced AQA textbooks and digital resources. CPD whether you re looking to develop your subject expertise or leadership skills we have a range of professional development support aqa.org.uk/cpd 11
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED Here are some of the most common questions you have asked about the new English Language specification and how to teach it to your post-16 resit students, along with what we have done to support you. Q How do I assess my students abilities and understand the areas of weakness? A We realise you might not have taught all your students before as they have progressed from school into Further Education, so it s important to understand the knowledge gaps so you can focus on your teaching. Using our range of specimen papers will help you identify their skills gaps, and also you can use it as a progression tracker throughout your teaching. Q Will we have to find new sources to support teaching text analysis and comparison? A The sources for the reading questions in our papers will be non-fiction and literary non-fiction texts. They will be drawn from the 19 th century, and either the 20 th or 21 st century. We ll be using a wide range of sources, including high quality journalism, articles, reports, essays, travel writing, diaries, autobiography and biographical passages. There are reading support booklets available for both Paper 1 and Paper 2, providing a wide range of text excerpts for use in the classroom. These can be downloaded free of charge from aqa.org.uk/english 12
Q A There s a lot to cover in a limited teaching time. Can you provide guidance as to how best use our time effectively? Developed in association with an post-16 English expert, we ve created a dedicated one year teaching plan to help you plan your teaching for those studying for their resit over a single year. This plan aligns itself directly and deliberately to assessment structure. The logical approach builds familiarity with assessment and helps students identify the purpose of each lesson. Q A I m worried that the new exams will be too hard for my students? Throughout our development of the new specification we have made a commitment to make it accessible to all. The removal of tiering obviously means that we have to design an assessment that both stretches at the top end and is accessible at the bottom end. In doing this, as well as consulting with teachers, we have spoken to subject experts and assessment experts to ensure the questions and mark schemes are designed to provide effective assessment. In GCSE English Language, we take the student on an assessment journey by building confidence at the start of the assessment with more familiar and accessible questions, before leading gradually to more challenging and extended response questions at the end. This is to help guide students through each paper - making the experience a more comfortable and engaging one. We have provided a range of exemplar student responses to show how they engage a range of abilities and these are available at at aqa.org.uk/english 13
Q A Q A Can my students carry over their Spoken Language assessment to their resit? Yes. If your students have already completed the Spoken Language endorsement for the new specification (8700) and have gained a pass or above, they may carry over this endorsement to their resit. If they have not completed assessment for the new specification, have completed the Speaking and Listening endorsement for the previous specification (4705) or have failed to gain the endorsement at their previous attempt, they will need to complete this non-exam assessment. More information on how to complete and submit the Spoken Language non-exam assessment is on our website. What about Controlled Assessment? There is no Controlled Assessment in the new specification. If students have previously completed the specification 4705 and completed Controlled Assessment, they will no longer be able to use this work towards the new qualification. The final opportunity to resit 4705 is in summer 2017 and students will then need to sit assessment for specification 8700. 14
HERE TO SUPPORT YOU If you have any questions about the new specification, our English team will be happy to support you between 8am and 7pm on weekdays. Contact us on: T: 0161 957 7504 E: english-gcse@aqa.org.uk W: aqa.org.uk/post16english : @AQAEnglish 15
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