13 replies to this topic

[Ed Podesta]

via @SchoolDuggery on Twitter:

Ofqual Call for Evidence on Controlled Assessment bit.ly/M21lxlHave your say!

What do you guys think about Controlled Assessment?

For us, it's been OK - in fact it has cut down on the amount of coursework chasing we've had to do.

others views?

[Louise OG]

OK here to, our kids struggled to do coursework at home, great to say to scientific SLT that no, you cannot keep making them redo it until they get full marks!

[Ed Podesta]

That's also good

Actually it was also quite nice to have 8 hours of sitting infront of a silent class whilst they got on with things

[neil mcdonald]

Seriously though...no drafting? When do you ever do a report that you don't draft. When in your degree did you do an assignment that you did not draft. Who is CA for, staff or kids?

[Ed Waller]

Never did a draft during BA. Research, plan and write. Maybe that's why I only got a 2i. Key was always the plan...

Some schools I suspect still coach and comment on drafts as well as teach the enquiry. This in our increasingly competitive environment encourages us to put in the extra time to gain an advantage (or maintain the playing field) for our students.

That said the idea of CA is one that helps us timewise and helps students in the long run in tterms of independent working.

[Ed Podesta]

OCR allows children to complete a draft in their eight hours preparation time. We allow ours to do this if they wish. Most do, 2000 words isn't actually that many, so most have more than enough time.

We don't teach the enquiry, but we do teach them skills of using sources to make a point / evaluating the weight of evidence etc - but wouldn't we do that anyway - whether it was cwork or CA?

[Mark Raychell]

Happy with OCR Controlled Assessment. We do the Role of the Individual, looking at Winston Churchill. Gives us a good reason to visit the Churchill War Rooms!
Advantages for me are:

• Pupils are able to draft/ word process answers, this is built into the process
• No question of re-doing, has to be finished in the eight hours
• Don't need to chase kids for work
• Easier to mark one long answer than eight shorter ones as in the old Coursework

[Jeremy H]

I am amazed to read so many positive comments on Controlled Assessment.

I can't bear it. I think it has been the single worst innovation in my 15+ years of teaching this subject because:

• It has created yet another layer of administration and paperwork through the inevitable chasing up of absentee kids and making sure those children who are entitled to extra time get their time
• It has encouraged teachers to yet again teach to a mark scheme and students to adapt to it
• The AQA tasks are nigh on identical to each other and this has not helped with the above
• It has generated exam stress for the students from the very beginning of Y10 when they start their English assessments

The only advantage that I can see is that we are no longer chasing up missing coursework pieces - but I would rather be doing that than implementing this dreadful scheme.

I am very tempted to switch to Edexcel's IGCSE but am watching the performance of other schools in that qualification before I make the jump.

As you can see I am looking forward to starting the next lot!
J

PS The only thing I like about History CA is that it is not MFL CA which trumps History for it's panoply of petty instructions.

Edited by Jeremy H, 18 June 2012 - 01:47 PM.

[Giles Falconer]

Totally agree with Jeremy H - CA is awful and should be abolished ASAP...

Edited by Giles Falconer, 18 June 2012 - 02:19 PM.

[Gorbash]

What do I think?

I'd rather have an extra exam and no coursework/CA...

The students I deal with arrive here in Y9 (3 tier system....just changing this year!) and are SERIOUSLY below where they should be both in terms of knowledge and conceptual thinking. They are also not capable of independent learning/thinking in any meaningful way. I do as much as I can in Y9 and Y10 to remedy this before doing the CA in Y11. I still reckon though that against students who have had 3 years of specialist KS3 teaching they are at a major disadvantage.

Even with trying to remedy the starting situation my weaker students (C/D borderline and below) struggle with organising themselves, knowing which sources to use to support their arguments etc. They sure as hell don't do a draft and then a neat version- its hard enough to get 1 attempt out of them; never mind having them self assess their work and improve it. The 2,000 words is nigh on impossible for most of my students too; even my 'best' students will top out at somewhere in the region of 1,500 words or so. Middling and lower ability students often do a hell of a lot less...

Trying to come up with some form of centralised 'planning' in a school to ensure that students are not doing too many CA's at the same time (not forgetting modular exams for Eng/Maths/Sci!) can be nigh on unworkable too. Planning trips is hellish if a CA is going on as SLT do not like students going out of school if a CA is underway (not even if the trip is a field trip for another CA!). The security aspect if you're allowing students to word process their responses can be awkward to; the 'faff' and rigmarole of saving everybody's work to secure areas that they cannot access out of less etc just takes up time....

I can see why CA was brought in and I do actually agree with the principle of coursework as it does assess a different set of skills to those in an exam but but I'm not honestly sure that CA is 'fit for purpose'.

Anyway- after a lousy day thats me feeling a little better for having 'vented' slightly.

Paul

[Jenjane]

<sub>Things I like:
With Edexcel we write it up in a total time of 2.5 hrs
There's less marking
In the old coursework you could end up having to compare answers to the same question that varied by hundreds of words, unfair and a waste of everyone's time.
Students have to do research and reference it. This is a key skill in history just like source analysis.
We don't have to use a computer so I don't have to wrestle the Geographers
I use part of mock exam week to write up one of the answers to enhance the 'prestiege' and ensure full attendence.
They have to learn less than on the old coursework
It genuinely is all over by Christmas.

Things I don't like:
Part Bi past representations have been too similar
Part Bii also suffers as a result
I am unable to give a sufficient answer to a year 11 class that explains why they are called representations and not sources.
I have to spend extra time after school with the students that are ill and this also negates the fact that they are supposed to do it in a 2 week time slot
There are no apropriate textbooks that cover the whole time period (ca8)
Clive Elmsley seems to be a personal favourite of the exam board (he's appeared on 3 CA's now!!). Give someone else a go
Timing is an issue resulting in me focussing on how to answer the question signifcantly more than the knowledge
Jane.</sub>

Edited by Jenjane, 18 June 2012 - 05:41 PM.

[chriswalker]

I teach CA5 Vietnam for EDEXCEL.
Kids love it -- until they have to start the CA.Representations questions
Biggest lot of hoop jumping meaningless non historical guff ever devised.
Honestly hate it

[Ed Podesta]

One of the things I really like in the CA is the chance for our students to make meaningful historical enquiry - because we're much more in charge of the factors and individuals we can choose as their focus for their work. OCR's open style questions lend themselves to this, and allow the higher attaining ones to shine, whilst giving others a strong central focus on which to base their writing.

They do their CA in lessons - in their normal teaching rooms. We start each session by getting out their stuff / making sure their phones are off and in bottoms of bags and off we go! We've set up an exam conditions catch up one evening a week for the duration, which means that if children are away they come along on Tuesday night to the CA room, sit for an hour and catch up their time. This works really well - and cuts down on administrative hassle.

After initial worries I really like CA.

[Mark H.]

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