Frequently Asked Questions About the Enriched ESL Uniform Examination

Transcription

1 Ministère de l Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport Direction de l évaluation des apprentissages About the Enriched ESL Uniform Examination Épreuve unique du programme enrichi d anglais, langue seconde 5 e année du secondaire Juin 2014, août 2014 et janvier Compétence 2, Réinvestir sa compréhension des textes Compétence 3, Écrire et produire des textes

2 Gouvernement du Québec, 2013 Le ministère de l Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport autorise les commissions scolaires et les établissements d enseignement privés à reproduire ce document sur support papier ou électronique et à le transmettre aux enseignantes et enseignants. Le Ministère en autorise aussi le dépôt dans un site extranet ou un portail, mais il en interdit le dépôt dans un site Internet. Il est interdit d apporter quelque modification que ce soit à ce document. Ainsi, le contenu de la version originale, y compris la mise en pages et la mention de la source, soit le ministère de l Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, doit être maintenu.

3 TABLE OF CONTENT 1. How is the examination prepared? Why are the topics mostly unfamiliar to students? How are topics selected? In the list of authorized materials, what does bilingual dictionary (English and another language) refer to? In the list of unauthorized materials, what does homemade documents refer to? Where do the audio documentaries used in the uniform examinations come from? Can students do additional research, for example, on the Internet? What is the role of the guiding question in the Preparation Booklet? Why don t students write an opinion piece? Why do students write a feature article? Will students always write a feature article? Why do students no longer have the choice between two reinvestment and writing tasks? Why are students required to listen to the audio documentary a third time at the beginning of the three-hour examination? Can students write their article in the first person? In the Competency 2 rubric, what is the difference between the terms angle and controlling idea? In their article, do students have to address all aspects of the prescribed angle? To write their article, do students need to use information from the audio documentary or can they rely solely on the texts in the Preparation Booklet? Are students allowed to use the title of the examination or of the audio documentary as the headline for their article? Do students have to include all the possible additional text components in their articles, i.e. a picture with a caption, a sidebar and a pull-quote? Can students cut images out of the Preparation Booklet and glue them into their article? Must images always have a caption? Should students write the final version of their article in columns? Why was the Competency 2 rubric reduced from two rows to one? What happens if students write their article using the general topic or the guiding question instead of the prescribed angle? What happens if a student writes fewer than 400 words or well above 400 words? In the Competency 2 rubric, what does tailor the content of their article to the purpose and to the target audience mean? When evaluating, do teachers read the texts as teachers or as the target audience? In the Competency 3 rubric, what is the difference between impeding readability and impeding understanding? In the Competency 3 rubric, what does use of idiomatic language mean? Why can t teachers allot marks other than those in the rubrics?... 9

4 31. Is it possible to provide an electronic version of the Guide de correction so that teachers can find information faster when marking (using the find feature)? What is patchwriting? What qualifies as copying? Why aren t students required to write a draft of their article? Are teachers teaching to the test? Are the exemplars authentic student texts? Why doesn t the Ministère provide exemplars on the topic addressed in the current examination? Where can teachers get additional information on the feature article?... 11

5 About the Enriched ESL Uniform Examination 1. How is the examination prepared? A topic is selected. Extensive research is done in order to identify the main trends and/or issues surrounding the topic and to find authentic texts that contain information that is relevant to the proposed tasks and level-appropriate for students. A first version of the examination is created. The examination is validated by a committee made up of Enriched ESL teachers and ESL education consultants from various regions and backgrounds (e.g. men and women, private and public schools, urban and rural settings). Modifications are made to the examination in light of the feedback provided by the validation committee. The audio documentary is prepared: interviews are conducted and recorded, the script for the reporter is written and the audio documentary is produced in a recording studio. The examination is validated by a second committee, with a profile similar to the first one. Further modifications are made to the examination in light of the feedback provided by the second committee. The examination undergoes a series of linguistic revisions and readings. Further modifications, if necessary, are made to the examination in light of the feedback provided by the revisers and readers. The examination is sent to the Direction de la sanction des études, which carefully looks at the examination and then oversees the duplication of the audio CD and the printing, distribution and administration of the examination. Once the June examination has been administered, a follow-up is done to determine whether modifications or clarifications are in order. 2. Why are the topics mostly unfamiliar to students? To evaluate Competency 2, Reinvests understanding of texts, it is essential to avoid topics that students are too familiar with. If a topic is too familiar (e.g. social networking, music), students will reinvest their prior knowledge more than their understanding of the texts provided. Therefore, topics must be accessible but mostly unfamiliar to students. 3. How are topics selected? Topics must meet the following criteria: be accessible to students, although mostly unfamiliar feature trends, social issues, controversies or matters of public interest be broad enough to encompass several sub-topics 4. In the list of authorized materials, what does bilingual dictionary (English and another language) refer to? English and another language means that students can use an English-French dictionary, English-Spanish or English coupled with any other language. Ministère de l Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport Anglais, langue seconde, programme enrichi 5 Juin 2014, août 2014 et janvier 2015

6 5. In the list of unauthorized materials, what does homemade documents refer to? A homemade document refers to any document that is not published by a publisher, i.e. that is available only to a given segment of the population. For example, a grammar book put together by a school or a school board is considered a homemade document, as it is available only to the students of the school or school board. 6. Where do the audio documentaries used in the uniform examinations come from? All audio documentaries have been produced by the Ministère specifically for the uniform examination. Interviews are set up and recorded in a studio or over the phone, and are later incorporated into a documentary that is written and produced by the Ministère. However, ready-made documentaries may also be purchased in the future. 7. Can students do additional research, for example, on the Internet? Students have to reinvest their understanding of the research materials provided. They can do additional research to better understand the issues or out of curiosity, but they must write their article using the research materials (print and audio) provided in the examination. 8. What is the role of the guiding question in the Preparation Booklet? The sole purpose of the guiding question is to guide students in their note-taking as they read and listen to the research materials. The guiding question is not to be confused with the reinvestment and writing task. The guiding question must be broad enough so as not to give away the reinvestment and writing task, yet specific enough to assist students in taking relevant notes for use on the day of the examination. 9. Why don t students write an opinion piece? It was important to select a writing genre that would permit evaluating the two competencies targeted by the examination. Extensive field-testing of the sample uniform examination in revealed that an information-based text was more appropriate than an opinion piece. In addition, since both the Français, langue d enseignement and the Core ESL uniform examinations require students to write an opinion piece, it was deemed more appropriate to have students write a different type of text. 10. Why do students write a feature article? Several types of information-based texts, such as reports, s and briefs, were considered. However, most presented problems given the examination parameters. For example, reports are too long for students to write in a three-hour examination setting, and s lack the structure required to allow students to demonstrate the targeted skills, especially for Competency 3. Extensive field-testing of the sample uniform examination in showed that a feature article was appropriate. 11. Will students always write a feature article? The examination will likely evolve, but there are no immediate plans to change the required text form. 12. Why do students no longer have the choice between two reinvestment and writing tasks? The decision was made to simplify the examination. Providing research materials for only one reinvestment and writing task has reduced the quantity of information in the Preparation Booklet. This in turn has reduced the quantity of information that both students and teachers have to process. Ministère de l Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport Juin 2014, août 2014 et janvier Anglais, langue seconde, programme enrichi

7 13. Why are students required to listen to the audio documentary a third time at the beginning of the three-hour examination? Students receive the reinvestment and writing task the prescribed angle at the beginning of the three-hour examination. This is the only opportunity they have to listen to the audio with the specific task in mind. 14. Can students write their article in the first person? It is possible to write a feature article in the first person. However, it could reduce objectivity and result in students writing an opinion piece. Consequently, it is recommended that students write in the third person. 15. In the Competency 2 rubric, what is the difference between the terms angle and controlling idea? The angle, also sometimes referred to as the focus, specifies the light under which the topic must be examined in the feature article. The Preparation Booklet and the audio documentary present the topic the broad theme of the examination for example, genetically modified organisms or space exploration. The reinvestment and writing task narrows the scope of the topic by prescribing the angle students must focus on in their article, e.g. examine the potential impact of GMOs on our health or examine the main challenges of future space exploration. The controlling idea stems from the angle. It represents the message that the author wants to convey about the angle, to the main idea he or she will develop in the article. For further information on the angle and the controlling idea, refer to the document entitled Précisions sur les exigences de l épreuve unique du programme enrichi d anglais, langue seconde, available on the Direction de l'évaluation's secure Web site, under Documents de soutien à la formation. 16. In their article, do students have to address all aspects of the prescribed angle? It is important to remember what the task is: to write a 400-word article to inform a nonspecialized audience about the prescribed angle. Students must decide what the controlling idea of their article will be (see Question 15), i.e. what message they want to convey about the angle. It may not always be possible to address all aspects of an angle, but students must address the key aspects in order for readers to have a solid understanding of the issue. By the same token, students cannot focus exclusively on details while failing to address the key aspects of an angle, nor can they address only one aspect of an angle. 17. To write their article, do students need to use information from the audio documentary or can they rely solely on the texts in the Preparation Booklet? Students have to use both. The examination is structured in such a way that some key aspects are addressed in the Preparation Booklet while others surface only in the audio documentary, forcing students to draw from both documents in order to provide readers with a critical overview of the topic from the prescribed angle. 18. Are students allowed to use the title of the examination or of the audio documentary as the headline for their article? Students can do so only if the title fits the requirements of a headline, i.e. must grab the reader s attention, yet be meaningful, so that it also reflects or hints at the angle. In June 2012, many students used the title of the examination, Destination: Space, as their headline, but it did not reflect or hint at the angle of their article. Ministère de l Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport Anglais, langue seconde, programme enrichi 7 Juin 2014, août 2014 et janvier 2015

8 19. Do students have to include all the possible additional text components in their articles, i.e. a picture with a caption, a sidebar and a pull-quote? No. Students must include at least two additional components which enhance the article, demonstrating that they understand the role of these components. For example, for the June 2011 examination on GMOs (genetically modified organisms), many students chose to present a definition of GMOs in a sidebar. This informed all readers about GMOs without weighing down the article for readers who were already familiar with the definition. For the June 2012 examination on space exploration, many students included images illustrating the concepts they described in their articles to help readers visualize and better understand them. 20. Can students cut images out of the Preparation Booklet and glue them into their article? Although there is no rule against doing so, students should not cut images out of the Preparation Booklet and glue them into their article. Instead, students are expected to write a brief description of the image they are proposing along with a caption, if necessary. The image does not have to come from the Preparation Booklet. Teachers can refer to the writing guidelines in the Writing Booklet for more information. 21. Must images always have a caption? Images often have a caption, but one is not always required. A caption will not be needed if the article makes the image self-explanatory. It is the student s responsibility to decide whether or not a caption is needed. 22. Should students write the final version of their article in columns? Although writing the article in columns shows an awareness of the required text form, students are not required to do so. Formatting the text in columns would normally be done at the layout stage of the production process, which is not part of the examination. 23. Why was the Competency 2 rubric reduced from two rows to one? Following the marking of a sample of texts collected from the June 2011 uniform examination, a strong correlation was observed between the two criteria in the rubric. Therefore, it was decided to combine the two and simplify marking. 24. What happens if students write their article using the general topic or the guiding question instead of the prescribed angle? The article must be written from the angle prescribed in the Writing Booklet. Any student who fails to do so will be heavily penalized for Competency 2. As per the rubric, he or she will be allotted a maximum of D+ (D or D+ = much content that is irrelevant to prescribed angle or E = most of the content is irrelevant to prescribed angle). 25. What happens if a student writes fewer than 400 words or well above 400 words? Teachers must read the entire article and evaluate it using the rubrics. The examination calls for approximately 400 words, but students can write shorter or longer texts. However, a text that is well below 400 words will likely earn a poor mark for Competency 2, as the content will be insufficient. Conversely, students who write a very long article may not have enough time to carefully plan, organize, write and edit their article, which means they will possibly earn poor marks for both competencies evaluated. There is not necessarily a link between the number of words and the quality of a text. In some cases, a 380-word text may be much better than a 500-word text in which ideas are confusing or repetitive. In other cases, a very long text may be off topic, the student having strayed from the purpose of the task while writing. Ministère de l Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport Juin 2014, août 2014 et janvier Anglais, langue seconde, programme enrichi

9 26. In the Competency 2 rubric, what does tailor the content of their article to the purpose and to the target audience mean? Students are not writing for their teacher; they are writing for the readers of Beyond the Surface magazine (refer to the writing guidelines in the Writing Booklet). Therefore, students have to shape their articles to meet the needs of these readers, not those of their teacher. They must keep in mind that the readers of the magazine want to be informed about a specific issue (angle) with which they are most likely unfamiliar. These readers have not read the texts in the Preparation Booklet and have not listened to the audio documentary. 27. When evaluating, do teachers read the texts as teachers or as the target audience? Teachers must read each text as evaluators, of course, but also as if they were J. T. Williams, senior editor of the magazine. As such, they make sure the article respects the magazine s mission, which is to educate and entertain English-speaking readers who are not necessarily familiar with the topic (i.e. who have not read the texts in the Preparation Booklet, listened to the audio documentary and are unfamiliar with the task). They also ensure that students have abided by the magazine s writing guidelines, as presented in the Writing Booklet, as well as the evaluation criteria in the rubrics. Teachers must wear this same hat when determining whether readability or understanding is impeded: they do not read the texts as teachers who are used to interpreting what students mean to write and who are familiar with the topic, having already read dozens of articles on the topic. 28. In the Competency 3 rubric, what is the difference between impeding readability and impeding understanding? Readability is impeded when the reader has to slow down his or her reading but does not have to stop. Understanding is impeded when the reader has to either stop his or her reading to figure out what the student meant or to reread a passage in order to understand it before resuming reading. 29. In the Competency 3 rubric, what does use of idiomatic language mean? Using idiomatic language means that the student uses language and sentence structures that are typical of the English language, demonstrating a high level of language skills. It means more than inserting a few expressions in the article. Consider the examples of idiomatic language below. Technology and science are leading humans to look further into space. Another question is on everyone s lips: to whom does space really belong? What is coming will take us to a whole new level. 30. Why can t teachers allot marks other than those in the rubrics? In the case of certification examinations, it is important that evaluation be uniform. The rubrics must therefore be used as is. 31. Is it possible to provide an electronic version of the Guide de correction so that teachers can find information faster when marking (using the find feature)? Since June 2013, in addition to the paper version, the Guide de correction of the June examination is available in an electronic version. This makes it easier for teachers to verify the accuracy of the information students have reinvested and to verify if they have copied from the research materials provided. Ministère de l Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport Anglais, langue seconde, programme enrichi 9 Juin 2014, août 2014 et janvier 2015

10 32. What is patchwriting? Patchwriting is using passages from research materials verbatim or by changing a word or a verb tense here and there and combining them with one s own writing. The passages can be as short as phrases or as long as entire paragraphs. Although patchwriting can be considered a natural stage in the learning process, especially in second languages when it comes to reinvesting information, it is not acceptable in Secondary V. 33. What qualifies as copying? For the purpose of the uniform examination, copying refers to borrowing or lifting passages verbatim from the research materials, and to patchwriting (see Question 32). However, reinvesting single words and idiomatic expressions is not copying. For example, a student who reinvests the vocabulary related to the topic (e.g. counterfeit goods, organic food, space debris, etc.) is not copying. Neither is a student who reinvests a set expression such as last but not least or Money doesn t grow on trees. Of course, properly referenced quotations are not considered copying. Refer to the Competency 2 rubric for more information on how to address copying. 34. Why aren t students required to write a draft of their article? The purpose of the uniform examination is to allow students to demonstrate their reinvestment and writing skills, and it is up to them to use the necessary means to do so. For example, some students may simply need to prepare a detailed outline. However, it is highly recommended that students first write a draft. Space for a draft copy is provided in the Writing Booklet. 35. Are teachers teaching to the test? No. The examination requires students to demonstrate good writing skills, many of which apply to any type of writing and not just the uniform examination, such as: including a beginning, a middle and an end engaging the audience with an introduction that is appropriate and catchy making the purpose clear early in the text including ideas and information that are relevant to the angle addressed and to the controlling idea of the text organizing and developing the ideas and the information so that the text is complete in itself (i.e. readers are not left with more questions than answers), coherent and cohesive organizing ideas into paragraphs using transitions between ideas and from one paragraph to another to ensure flow using accurate and idiomatic language and appropriate language register using logic and common sense Of course, in addition to the above universal text features, each genre has its own specific text components, which must be taught to students. For example, an opinion piece requires a firm position and supporting evidence, whereas a story requires a plot and character development. 36. Are the exemplars authentic student texts? Yes. The exemplars are actual texts written by students, presented verbatim. The Ministère has obtained the right to publish the texts from the students who wrote them. If a text is not an authentic student text, a note is added to specify that this is the case. Ministère de l Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport Juin 2014, août 2014 et janvier Anglais, langue seconde, programme enrichi

11 37. Why doesn t the Ministère provide exemplars on the topic addressed in the current examination? Uniform examinations are confidential and must be administered on the date set by the Direction de la sanction des études. Examples of student writing cannot be obtained before this date. 38. Where can teachers get additional information on the feature article? A document entitled Précisions sur les exigences de l épreuve unique du programme enrichi d anglais, langue seconde is available on the Direction de l évaluation des apprentissages secure Web site, under Documents de soutien à la formation. This document provides explanations and examples, in both French and English, as well as activities, which are in English so that teachers may use them with their students. Various books and Web sites also provide information on the feature article.

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