2021 Year 11 Teacher Assessed Grading for IGCSE/GCSE Examinations

Summary

The request sought policies, grade thresholds, and assessment materials used by Isle of Man schools for 2021 Year 11 IGCSE/GCSE teacher-assessed grades to ensure fairness across the island. The Department of Education, Sport and Culture provided some information, including Cambridge International guidance on evidence collection, but withheld specific school-level documents and assessments, resulting in a partial exemption outcome.

Key Facts

• The request was made on 2021-06-25 and the outcome was issued on 2021-08-12.
• The response included 144 pages across 4 documents.
• Schools were required to base grades on actual achievement rather than predicted potential.
• Each student's grade was to be supported by a portfolio of exactly three substantial pieces of work.
• The outcome was classified as 'Some information sent but part exempt'.

Data Disclosed

• 2021-06-25
• 2021-08-12
• 144
• 4
• 19 February
• June 2021
• June 2020
• 1st January 2021
• three
• one hour

Original Request

Hansard for the Tynwald Court sitting of 20th April 2021 records the following exchange between Mr. Lawrie Hooper MHK and the DESC Minister as part of supplementary questions to Question 8 for oral answer (DESC Summer Term Priorities for Students): Mr. Hooper: In his previous answer the Minister referenced that individual exam boards will obviously be treating things differently, and I would expect one of the priorities of his Department would be to ensure that all students sitting exams have the best possible opportunity in front of them. Can he just clarify then in respect of those earlier remarks that if, for example, you have two students both studying the WJEC Maths GCSE, one in Ramsey, one in Peel, both of those students will be assessed in the same way to the same criteria to make sure that it is actually fair across the whole Island? The Minister: Yes, I can commit to that. What the Department is doing is working with teachers in different schools teaching the same subjects and the same exam board to make sure that all students are assessed in the same way, so if we are then challenged by that board on those exam grades we can give clear evidence that across the board the same procedures have been applied for all our students to get the grades they deserve. Further to this I seek the following information in relation to each Island Secondary School: For the subjects listed below a copy of the policies and protocols used by each examination centre for determining grades in those subjects; The grade thresholds used by each school for the subjects listed below and any threshold associated documentation; Where written assessments, mock examinations and classroom tests have been used to inform teachers in grading students a copy of the assessments, exams and tests given. Only those undertaken since 1st January 2021 are requested. Confirmation of whether students had prior sight of the examination/assessment/test before sitting the same is sought; Any guidance or correspondence from the DESC to the schools (and their responses to the same) regarding assessments which supports the Minister's comments above. The information sought is for the following IGCSE/GCSE subjects: English Language, Mathematics, Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Co-ordinated Science and Combined Science).

Data Tables (65)

Full Response Text

Collecting evidence to support school-assessed grades 1

Collecting evidence to support school-assessed grades

On 19 February we announced that for the small number of countries, and regions within countries, where directives from national or local authorities make it impossible for exams to go ahead, we will switch from exams to a school assessment approach using student work.
This outline explains our approach to school-assessed grades.

This document applies to all qualifications being assessed through the school-assessed grades route.

In this document The basis for school-assessed grades Quantity of evidence required Types of evidence Coverage of Syllabus content and Assessment Objectives Timing of work Security and authentication Private candidates Cambridge International AS & A Level candidates Marking Internal quality assurance by the centre How to determine school-assessed grades Managing bias The Rationale Document External quality assurance by Cambridge International

The basis for school-assessed grades
Each school-assessed grade will be based on the level of achievement demonstrated by the candidate in work that they have done.

The school-assessed grades in June 2021 are different to the predicted grades which were issued in the June 2020 series. The predicted grades issued in June 2020 were based on the centre’s judgement of what the candidate would have achieved had the exams taken place – a judgement based on potential. In June 2021, the school-assessed grades will be based on actual achievement.

Schools must base their judgement of the candidate’s achievement on demonstrated achievement only. They cannot speculate whether the student could have done better had there been no pandemic or no disruption to teaching and learning.

Quantity of evidence required
Centres following a school assessment approach in June 2021 should identify a portfolio of three substantial pieces of work for each candidate in each syllabus.

Collecting evidence to support school-assessed grades 2 By substantial, we mean a piece of work that has taken the candidate at least one hour of concentrated work to complete. This means the school-assessed grades will be based on a roughly similar amount of work as would be used to determine an examination grade

No candidate should have more than, or fewer than, three pieces of work in their portfolio.

Types of evidence The types of work to be included among the three pieces of work are at the centre’s discretion. They can include one or more of any of the following:

• Complete past papers from the syllabus with a duration of an hour or more; • Completed coursework prepared according to syllabus requirements; • Work made up of questions selected from various past papers; • Papers used as mock exams; • Extended project work set by the school during the course of study; • Tasks set by the centre, such as essays, assignments, problems, practical tasks. We strongly recommend that at least one of the pieces of work is a complete past paper dating back to before June 2020. Past papers from later than the June 2020 series may be used in addition, at the centre’s discretion.

Students doing past papers, mock exams and work made up of questions from past papers should, as far as possible, be given the appropriate access arrangements (such as extra time or enlarged copies of the paper). It is not necessary for schools to apply to Cambridge International for these access arrangements. Please continue to keep records showing students’ need for access arrangements.

Schools using school-assessed grades can use coursework as one of a student’s three pieces of work. The coursework should not be submitted to Cambridge International for moderation. It should be retained at the school in case it is required for the external quality assurance process.

Coverage of Syllabus content and Assessment Objectives
The three substantial pieces of work in the portfolio must be within the content and the assessment objectives of the relevant syllabus.

For each candidate, this must cover as broad a range as possible of the assessment objectives. For example, in a syllabus where there is an assessment objective covering theoretical knowledge and understanding and a second assessment objective covering practical skills, at least one piece of work should be theoretical and at least one should be practical.

In circumstances where government Covid-19 regulations have prevented schools from covering a particular assessment objective, then it does not need to be covered in the portfolio and that fact should be explained in the Rationale Document. Examples of this might include circumstances in which schools were ordered to close, preventing access to the facilities needed for practical work, or circumstances in which social distancing regulations prevented group work. Centres do not need to apply to Cambridge International for exemptions if they are awarding school-assessed grades.

For each candidate, the three substantial pieces of work in the portfolio must cover as broad a range as possible of the content of the syllabus. For example, where syllabus content is organised into topics, the three pieces of work in a portfolio should be on different topics.

Collecting evidence to support school-assessed grades 3 Timing of work Students can complete the work within their portfolio at any time during their course of study. Schools may want to include some pieces of work which have been set or completed after receiving these requirements.

In many cases the quality of a student’s work improves during the course of study, so that later work is at a higher level. Where this is the case, centres may decide that later work is a better reflection of the student’s level of achievement. However, during the unusual conditions of the Covid pandemic, some candidates may have slipped back as a consequence of prolonged periods of school closure. In these circumstances, centres may wish to include earlier work in the student’s portfolio, so that school-assessed grades reflect the quality of each student’s best work.

Security and authentication The centre must be able to confirm, with a reasonable degree of confidence, that the work included in every portfolio is authentic – which means that it is the candidate’s own unaided work.

A ‘reasonable degree of confidence’ does not mean absolute certainty. However, it does mean that the centre has taken reasonable steps to ensure that the work is authentic.

Ideally, all of the work in the portfolio should have been done under the direct supervision of a teacher, at school. Under these conditions the teacher can be reasonably confident that students have not had inappropriate access to the internet, to open books, or to the assistance of families or friends while doing the work.

However, we understand that direct supervision by teachers may not be possible in all circumstances, including where schools have been closed for prolonged periods, or where the candidate is a private candidate.

It is acceptable for some or all of the work in a portfolio to have been done at home. However, the teacher should be confident that the work done at home is of a consistent standard with other work that the student has done. Where the work has been set specifically for assessment purposes, and the student knows this or could infer this, then some sort of supervision is required, whether it is through the camera of a laptop or by an adult member of the family who can provide written confirmation that the work is the candidate’s own and that no assistance has been given.

The conditions under which the work has been completed should be set out in the Rationale Document.

Private candidates As far as possible, centres should treat private candidates who are entered through the centre in the same way as school candidates. The requirements for the amount of work, the types of work, the coverage of syllabus content and assessment objectives, are the same. The requirement for a reasonable degree of confidence in the authenticity of the work is also the same.

If the work of a private candidate has been done under the supervision of a reputable teaching institution, then a statement from that institution should be accepted as providing the necessary confidence in the authenticity of the work. It is for the centre to decide whether or not a teaching institution is reputable. If the centre is not familiar with the institution, then the centre should not accept its statements.

Collecting evidence to support school-assessed grades 4

Work completed earlier in the course of study by a private candidate should not be accepted unless there is convincing evidence of its authenticity. Assurances from the candidate, or statements made by family members long after the work has been completed, are not sufficiently strong evidence.

It may therefore be necessary for schools to set work for private candidates to complete, ideally at the school under the direct supervision of its teachers.

Cambridge International AS & A Level candidates Our AS and A Level syllabuses are divided into two parts to allow a staged approach to assessment. Each part has its own distinct syllabus content and its own exam components. The two parts are: • the AS Level part, which comprises the AS Level and also forms a part of the A Level; • the ‘A Level only’ part, which is taken only by A Level candidates. This also known as the ‘A2’ part or ‘A2 components’. For A Level candidates, the pieces of work used to decide the teacher assessed grades should relate exclusively to the ‘A Level only’ (i.e. ‘A2’) part of the course.

Marking You must mark any past papers and questions taken from past papers using the mark schemes produced by Cambridge International. These are available from the School Support Hub.

You should mark coursework using Cambridge International’s marking criteria, which are available in the syllabus document or on the School Support Hub. If you do not have access, contact your School Support Hub Coordinator at your school.

Where tasks have been set by the centre and have been taken by more than one candidate, the centre must write a mark scheme for the tasks and use it to mark each candidate’s work.

Internal quality assurance by the centre Where more than one teacher in a centre is using the same mark scheme, the teachers must standardise their marking at the beginning of the marking process, so that they all apply the mark scheme in the same way. Details of how teachers standardised their marking should be recorded in the Rationale Document

In cases where work was completed earlier in the course and has already been marked, it is possible that more than one teacher applied the same mark scheme but the teachers did not standardise their marking. This is acceptable and the work can still be included in portfolios. However, the fact that the marking has not been standardised should be recorded in the Rationale Document.

Where more than one teacher in a centre has applied the same mark scheme, the involved teachers should sample each other’s marking afterwards to check for consistency. Where teachers find inconsistent marking approaches, candidates’ marks should be adjusted as necessary.

How to determine school-assessed grades We will explain how the pieces of work in a candidate’s portfolio should be used in the determination of a school-assessed grade in March.

Collecting evidence to support school-assessed grades 5

Managing bias It is important that the marking of work in the portfolios is objective; when marking, teachers should only take account of the student’s knowledge, skills and abilities which are evident in the piece of work. We encourage schools to be aware of conscious and unconscious bias in determining school-assessed grades and will provide more information on avoiding bias in March.

The Rationale Document
Each centre should complete a Rationale Document for each syllabus, explaining in detail how the school-assessed grades have been determined. This document will include: • the rationale used to select pieces of work for each candidate; • whether any assessment objectives are not included in the portfolios, and the reason why they were omitted1; • the conditions in which the work was completed and how it has been authenticated; • how the work of private candidates has been obtained, selected and authenticated; • how marking was standardised and reviewed, in cases where more than one teacher has applied the same mark scheme. • how teachers ensured objectivity in marking and how any access arrangements were met The Rationale Document will also need to include details of how the work in the portfolio was used to decide the school-assessed grades. We will tell you how to do this in March.

External quality assurance by Cambridge International
Cambridge International will carry out external quality assurance checks on school-assessed grades. We will contact some or all centres who have provided school-assessed grades for a syllabus, and we will tell these centres which candidates’ work we would like to see. The centre will be required to send us the work in the portfolios for these candidates, together with the Rationale Document.

Centres should therefore ensure that they have candidates’ portfolios of work available in case they are needed for the external quality assurance process.

The sample of schools selected for quality assurance checks will include: • large- or medium-entry schools in which there is a significant discrepancy between the pattern of grades proposed for June 2021 and those achieved in June 2019; • a random selection of smaller-entry schools; and • schools in which there have been cases of suspected malpractice in the past.
If we find any issues during the quality assurance process, we will contact the centre, and we may ask them to make changes to their process and to reconsider their judgements. We will withhold students’ grades until the issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of both the centre and Cambridge International.

1 Loss of teaching time is not in itself sufficient reason for excluding an assessment objective, since most schools have been able to teach remotely during periods of school closure. However, Covid restrictions preventing access to facilities or equipment, or preventing group work, may be sufficient.

1 From: Sent: 16 October 2020 16:36 To:

Weekly Summary - Exam Board Changes W/E 16/10/20 Attachments: 16th Oct Summer 2021 adaptions.xlsx Dear All    Please find attached the update on changes announced by exams boards for this week as of 4pm today. Changes made  s

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