Change is in the Air
by We are experiencing one of the biggest ever periods of change in our education system with the 14 to 19 reforms in full flow. Before taking a more in-depth look at some of the GCSE changes, we give you an overview of what is happening and when.
Overall, there will be three main changes to GCSE compared with what has gone on before, Ms Coldicott explained. First, the structure of the GCSEs offered by OCR will be unitised, and become modular in structure. For many subjects this will mean that there are two assessment points each year, in June and January, but with at least 40 per cent of the assessment being taken at the end of the course.
“Within those constraints, however, the units can be used flexibly and some pupils will prefer to do all of their assessment at the end of the course,” Ms Coldicott said.
OCR examinations will typically have between two and four units, but most will have three or four.
The QCA has decided that each specification will fall into one of three categories when it comes to assessment.
Some subjects will comprise 100 per cent examinations, while others will be made up of 25 per cent controlled assessment and 75 per cent examination. Typically, these will be subjects with less of a practical element, such as geography, history or business studies.
Where the nature of the GCSE requires a more practical and work-related input – such as PE, music, language and media – 40 per cent of the course will be examined externally and 60 per cent assessed under controlled conditions.
Units will be content driven, or divided into the skills that are required to be demonstrated, such as speaking, listening, reading and writing in language.
However, the QCA has decided that candidates will only be able to resit each unit once. “There have been concerns about the amount of assessment going on. By allowing only one resit, it takes the focus back onto learning,” Ms Coldicott said.
One of the biggest changes in GCSEs is the introduction of controlled assessment, in favour of coursework.
Ms Coldicott explained: “This is something that has been introduced at the QCA’s instigation because of fears that some students’ work was not their own, and that there was too much help from staff or parents.”
Teachers will be able to continue giving limited help, and students will be able to do their research and information gathering in their own time, but the writing up of work will be done under controlled conditions, within timescales and to designated word counts. This will remove opportunities for plagiarism.
“Some students were submitting far too much coursework for which they were getting no additional credit. More focused assessments will give guidance to students and help to concentrate their minds on what they need to submit,” Ms Coldicott added.
One of the new criteria for assessment, set by the QCA, is that it should include a variety of question types, which encourage extended writing. It means that pupils will no longer see examination questions following a standard formula.
Under the GCSE reforms, short courses, which have half the value of a full GCSE, will be broadened with more subjects becoming available.
“Short courses can be covered in a single year or stretched out over a period of time, and are designed to give greater flexibility to give students a greater experience and to complement the full GCSEs they are doing,” Ms Coldicott explained.
“It could be that doing a short course can be linked to an after-school club or activity, or they may be appropriate where there is not enough room in the timetable to do a full GCSE.”
In modern foreign languages, for example, candidates will be able to choose whether to focus on the written or spoken language when doing a short course.
One of the most innovative changes to GCSEs will be the introduction of on-screen testing in a number of subjects, including citizenship, economics, engineering, geography, Latin, PE and law, although in all cases except law there will be paper-based alternatives.
“Young people are often more comfortable using screens and computers than sitting down and writing on pieces of paper,” Ms Coldicott added.
“One of the exciting innovations is the online repository, which is a secure area where work can be loaded ready for moderation. This doesn’t have to be a word-based document, but can be a video or another medium.”
In the run-up to full implementation of the new GCSEs, teachers will have access to free lesson plans from OCR and guidance about the new specifications, and to additional support for the changes.
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