GCSE, GCE, Principal Learning and Project Code of Practice. May 2011

Transcription

1 GCSE, GCE, Prncpal Learnng and Project Code of Practce May 2011

2 The responsbltes of awardng organsatons and awardng organsaton personnel Frst publshed n May 2011 Crown copyrght You may re-use ths publcaton (not ncludng logos) free of charge n any format or medum, under the terms of the Open Government Lcence. To vew ths lcence, www. natonalarchves.gov.uk/vst/default.htm vst The Natonal Archves; or wrte to the Informaton Polcy Team, The Natonal Archves, Kew, Rchmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU; or emal: malto:ps@natonalarchves.gs. gov.uk ps@natonalarchves.gs.gov.uk. Ths publcaton s also avalable on our webste at Any enqures regardng ths publcaton should be sent to us at: Ofqual Sprng Place Coventry Busness Park Herald Avenue Coventry CV5 6UB 2nd Floor Glendnnng House 6 Murray Street Belfast BT1 6DN 2 Secton 1

3 Prncples underpnnng the code of practce Contents Secton 1 Secton 2 Secton 3 Introducton 4 Prncples underpnnng the code of practce 6 The responsbltes of awardng organsatons and awardng organsaton personnel 7 The relatonshp between awardng organsatons and centres 13 Preparng queston papers, tasks and mark schemes 16 Secton 4 Standardsng markng: external assessment 21 Secton 5 Secton 6 Standardsng markng and moderaton: nternal assessment 30 Awardng, mantanng an archve and ssung results 37 Secton 7 Canddates wth partcular requrements 46 Secton 8 Malpractce 49 Secton 9 Enqures about results and appeals 50 Secton 10 Access to marked examnaton scrpts 54 Appendx 1 Appendx 2 Appendx 3 Appendx 4 Appendx 5 Appendx 6 Moderaton arrangements for GCEs n appled subjects, prncpal learnng and project 57 Gradng for GCSEs that do not use unform marks 59 Aggregaton and gradng for qualfcatons that use unform marks 62 Aggregaton and gradng for prncpal learnng and project 69 Arrangements for specfcatons or optons wth low entres 72 Regulatons for Welsh-medum and dual language (Englsh/Welsh) assessment 73 Glossary 74 Contents 3

4 The responsbltes of awardng organsatons and awardng organsaton Introducton personnel Ths document replaces GCSE, GCE, Prncpal Learnng and Project Code of Practce (Aprl 2010). Awardng organsatons and other nterested partes should note that ths code of practce and any future revsons wll appear on the webstes of the regulators of external qualfcatons n England, Wales and Northern Ireland ( the regulators ). The regulators produce ths code of practce to meet a publc need. The publc expects qualfcatons to be hgh qualty. It wants qualfcatons to: be ft for purpose command publc confdence be far and accurate. It also wants the standard of qualfcatons to be the same across awardng organsatons and over tme. It needs to know that awardng organsatons are competent and f somethng goes wrong that there wll be a rght of appeal. Ths code of practce wll help to uphold publc confdence n qualfcatons. Who s ths code of practce for? Ths code s for the awardng organsatons n England, Wales and Northern Ireland that delver the: free-standng mathematcs qualfcaton (FSMQ) General Certfcate of Educaton (GCE) ncludng GCE n appled subjects General Certfcate of Secondary Educaton (GCSE) ncludng GCSE n appled subjects prncpal learnng qualfcaton 1 project qualfcaton. 1 Includng prncpal learnng (Wales) 4 Introducton

5 Who regulates these qualfcatons? These qualfcatons are regulated by the three regulators: n England: Offce of Qualfcatons and Examnatons Regulaton (Ofqual) n Wales: Department for Educaton and Sklls (DfES) n Northern Ireland: Councl for the Currculum, Examnatons and Assessment (CCEA). The regulators use ths code as the bass for ther montorng actvty for the qualfcatons lsted above. They revew t regularly to make sure t remans ft for purpose. The awardng organsatons have agreed to follow ths code. What s ths code of practce for? Ths code ams to: promote qualty, consstency, accuracy and farness n the assessment and awardng of qualfcatons covered by ths code help mantan standards across specfcatons, both wthn and between awardng organsatons and from year to year. To help acheve these ams, ths code sets out: the agreed prncples and practces for the assessment and qualty assurance of qualfcatons covered by ths code the roles and responsbltes of awardng organsatons and centres the requrements for a hgh-qualty examnatons process. Introducton 5

6 Introducton Prncples underpnnng the code of practce The am of all those nvolved n producng, delverng, assessng, awardng, certfcatng and regulatng accredted qualfcatons s to make sure that all canddates receve the results ther performance merts when judged aganst the relevant specfcaton content and assessment crtera. The regulators requre that the awardng organsatons are commtted to the followng prncples that underpn a hgh-qualty assessment system and promote good practce. Awardng organsatons are responsble for ensurng that 1. Procedures and systems must comply wth relevant current legslaton and regulatory requrements. 2. Management and admnstratve systems are effcent and effectve. 3. Assessment nstruments are ft for purpose, vald and relable. 4. Assessment nstruments are desgned to make sure that all canddates are treated farly. 5. The assessment system s transparent so that: the evdence on whch decsons are based s clear t s possble to audt the decson-makng process those makng decsons can be held accountable. 6. For each process n the assessment system there s an audt tral that sets out the key evdence that supports the decson taken. 7. Those nvolved n the assessment system must: be clear about ther roles and responsbltes have approprate experence and expertse receve approprate tranng to carry out ther roles. 8. Enqures and appeals from centres and prvate canddates are nvestgated and resolved. Awardng organsatons must provde clear documentaton, procedures and gudance to support centres n meetng ther responsbltes relatng to the conduct and admnstraton of examnatons and nternal assessments. Awardng organsatons must take account of any regulatory reports n the delvery and conduct of assessments. Awardng organsatons must seek the permsson of the regulators before devatng from any of the requrements set out n ths code. 6 Introducton

7 Prncples underpnnng the code of practce Secton 1 The responsbltes of awardng organsatons and awardng organsaton personnel Ths secton sets out what the awardng organsatons (ncludng ther governng body, staff and examnng personnel) must do to organse and manage themselves to mantan the qualty and standards of the qualfcatons they offer. Awardng organsatons governng bodes 1.1 The awardng organsaton s governng body s responsble for settng n place approprate procedures to ensure that standards are mantaned n each subject examned from year to year (ncludng ensurng that standards between GCE and GCE n appled subjects, as well as between GCSE and GCSE n appled subjects, are algned), across dfferent specfcatons wthn a qualfcaton and wth other awardng organsatons. It should act upon feedback from prevous awards, ncludng recommendatons from relevant montorng and other reports. The procedures must ensure that any necessary acton s taken to mantan party of standards wth other awardng organsatons offerng smlar qualfcatons. Ths acton ncludes exchangng approprate nformaton wth the other awardng organsatons and the regulators soon after awardng meetngs and before the publcaton of results. It also ncludes provdng the regulators wth raw data and reports to an agreed tmescale. 1.2 The responsbltes of the governng body, as dscharged through ts staff and feeearnng personnel, are descrbed below. The functons descrbed should be fulflled for each qualfcaton specfcaton. One person may dscharge more than one role provded that the role does not produce a conflct of nterest, such as that between the roles of revser and scrutneer. However, for each specfcaton, regardless of the sze of ts entry, the followng separate roles should be dentfed and fulflled: awardng organsaton offcer (as dstnct from any examnng personnel who are treated as drect employees of the awardng organsaton), chef examner and revser. The awardng organsaton should provde approprate tranng and support to ensure that ts personnel can carry out the functons set out n ths code of practce. The awardng organsaton should montor and evaluate ths provson to make sure that t s effectve and remans ft for purpose. Secton 1 7

8 The responsbltes of awardng organsatons and awardng organsaton personnel 1.3 Where addtonal ters of personnel are needed to cope wth the numbers of canddates nvolved n a partcular specfcaton, one person must have overall responsblty. 1.4 The governng body must ensure that representatves of the regulators are provded wth all the nformaton they requre and are gven access to such meetngs and staff as the regulators deem necessary for them to carry out ther dutes. The governng body should work n cooperaton wth these representatves to ensure, as far as possble, that schedules are arranged to facltate ther work. 1.5 The awardng organsaton wll appont a sngle named person to be accountable drectly to ts governng body for ensurng the qualty and standards of ts qualfcatons. In dong so, the awardng organsaton guarantees to the regulators that t ensures: v all necessary acton wll be taken to mantan party of standards n each subject and qualfcaton from year to year, across dfferent specfcatons and wth other awardng organsatons complance wth the requrements of ths code of practce and other relevant regulatons effectve means for the consderaton of the recommendatons of the chars of examners ts partcpaton n comparablty and montorng actvtes, and that such changes as ths work shows to be necessary are made. Awardng organsaton offcers 1.6 Awardng organsaton offcers manage all stages of the examnng process to ensure that: they are carred out n accordance wth ths code of practce and wth the awardng organsaton s polces and procedures fee-earnng personnel and commttees are provded wth all necessary admnstratve, subject specalst and techncal support awardng organsaton senor management, ncludng the awardng organsaton offcer wth overall responsblty for the qualty and standards of qualfcatons, are alerted to ssues or concerns that arse durng the process. 8 Secton 1

9 Char of examners 1.7 A char of examners 2 s responsble to the awardng organsaton for mantanng standards across dfferent specfcatons n a subject wthn a qualfcaton and from year to year. For prncpal learnng, the char must take responsblty for standards across all levels wthn a lne of learnng, ensurng that the levels do not overlap. For project, the char must take responsblty for standards across all levels, ensurng that the levels do not overlap. The char of examners must: v char the queston paper evaluaton commttee meetngs, where possble, for every specfcaton n the subject n that partcular qualfcaton type montor the standards of chef examners lead the awardng process and recommend grade boundares for each specfcaton to the awardng organsaton submt, as drected by the awardng organsaton, an overall evaluaton report on the nternal and external assessment for the qualfcaton. Chef examner 1.8 The chef examner 3 for a specfcaton s responsble to the char of examners for ensurng that the examnaton as a whole ncludng both nternal and external assessment meets the requrements of the specfcaton and mantans standards from one year to the next. For prncpal learnng, the chef examner wll be responsble for standards wthn a partcular level of a lne of learnng. For project, the chef examner wll be responsble for standards at a partcular level. The chef examner must: v v act as prncpal examner or prncpal moderator for at least one component supervse the constructon of queston papers and mark schemes and, where approprate, the crtera for nternal assessment to ensure approprate standards ensure that the external assessments as a whole cover the assessment crtera, as set out n the specfcaton, and satsfactorly sample the approprate content ensure that, over a reasonable number of years, the examnaton as a whole wll address all the specfcaton content seek to ensure party across alternatve components and optons n terms of the demands made on canddates 2 An assstant char of examners can be apponted, subject to the approval of the regulators, where the awardng organsaton consders ths to be approprate. When ths opton s taken, t s the responsblty of the awardng organsaton to ensure that arrangements are made for coordnatng the work of assstant chars of examners. The char of examners wll reman the sngle pont of accountablty. It would be a potental conflct of nterest f the char was also responsble for standards wthn one level, or for one of the specfcatons wthn the subject area for whch they have overall responsblty. 3 Assstant chef examners can be apponted, subject to the approval of the regulators, where the awardng organsaton consders ths to be approprate. When ths opton s taken, t s the responsblty of the awardng organsaton to ensure that arrangements are made for coordnatng the work of the assstant chef examners. The chef examner wll reman the sngle pont of accountablty Secton 1 9

10 The responsbltes of awardng organsatons and awardng organsaton personnel v montor the standards of prncpal examners and prncpal moderators v submt, as drected by the awardng organsaton, an evaluaton report on the examnaton n that specfcaton. Prncpal examner 1.9 The prncpal examner for each unt/component s responsble for the settng of the queston paper/task and the standardsng of ts markng. The prncpal examner must: v v set the questons and mark schemes for the queston paper or approve those set by other examners 4 seek to ensure party of standards across optonal questons n the paper and assst the chef examner n ensurng party of standards across optonal papers montor the standards of markng of all the examners for the paper, ncludng, where necessary, any assstant prncpal examners and team leaders, and take approprate steps to ensure accuracy and consstency be nvolved n the awardng process, advse members on how the queston paper functoned and where approprate, recommend prelmnary mark ranges for the judgemental grade boundares for the queston paper submt to the chef examner an evaluaton report on the performance of the queston paper/task. Revser 1.10 The revser s requred to: provde wrtten comments on early drafts of queston papers/tasks and provsonal mark schemes work through queston papers, where approprate. The awardng organsaton may appont more than one revser for each examnaton. Scrutneer 1.11 The scrutneer s responsble for: v checkng the fnal drafts of all queston papers/tasks wthout reference to the mark schemes to ensure that the questons can be answered n the tme allowed and that there are no errors or omssons workng through queston papers, where approprate checkng the mark scheme to ensure that the marks gven are dentcal to those on the queston paper preparng a report for the awardng organsaton offcer. 4 The term queston papers apples to all externally assessed components, ncludng tasks and awardng organsaton set assgnments. 10 Secton 1

11 Examners 1.12 Examners are responsble for markng canddates work n accordance wth the agreed mark scheme and markng procedures. General markers 1.13 General markers are responsble for markng canddates work where a hgh level of subject expertse s not necessary to apply the mark scheme. They must mark such work n accordance wth the agreed mark scheme and markng procedures. Prncpal moderator 1.14 The prncpal moderator for each nternally assessed unt/component s responsble to the chef examner for ensurng that the standards of the unt/component are mantaned and are consstent wth the unt specfcaton and assessment crtera. The prncpal moderator must: comple exemplar work, annotated to show how the assessment crtera are to be appled ensure that moderators meet the standardsaton requrements and take acton f any moderator fals to mantan the requred standard ensure that all moderators correctly nterpret and apply the assessment crtera and that they are usng the same crtera as the awardng organsaton provdes for the nternal assessors v montor the standards of any assstant prncpal moderators, team leaders and moderators v ensure that approprate preparatory, follow-up and remedal work wth centres s carred out v be nvolved n the awardng process and advse members on how the component functoned and, where approprate, recommend prelmnary mark ranges for the judgemental grade boundares v submt to the chef examner an evaluaton report on ssues relatng to the performance of the component. Moderators 1.15 Moderators are responsble for moderatng centres assessment of canddates work n accordance wth the agreed assessment crtera and the awardng organsaton s procedures. Secton 1 11

12 The responsbltes of awardng organsatons and awardng organsaton personnel Assstant prncpal examners, assstant prncpal moderators and team leaders 1.16 Assstant prncpal examners and assstant prncpal moderators must be apponted where requred by the sze of entry. Assstant prncpals are responsble for a group of senor examners or moderators where the span of control would otherwse be too great for the prncpal examners or prncpal moderators. If a team structure s used, team leaders must be apponted to supervse a team of examners or moderators. They must act as mentors for new appontees, check and gude the work of the examners and moderators for whom they are responsble and advse on the need for adjustments to examners marks or moderators recommendatons. 12 Secton 1

13 Secton 2 The relatonshp between awardng organsatons and centres Ths secton sets out what the awardng organsatons must do to make ther relatonshp wth centres clear and streamlned. It covers: n admnstratve demands n responsbltes of centres n reportng results n feedback to centres n support and gudance. Admnstratve demands and confdentalty 2.1 The awardng organsaton s demands on centres must be the mnmum necessary to support professonal competence and mantan the ntegrty of the examnaton. Awardng organsatons must agree collectvely and comply ndvdually wth common admnstratve and other practces n areas specfed by the regulators to an agreed tmetable and standard. 2.2 The awardng organsaton must produce and dstrbute clear statements of admnstratve procedures and products that have an mpact on centres. 2.3 The awardng organsaton must take precautons to ensure the confdentalty of examnatons, ncludng controlled assessments. These precautons must ensure that scrpts or copes of scrpts from externally assessed components are seen by no one other than awardng organsaton staff, ther authorsed agents and fee-earnng personnel, representatves of the regulators and authorsed staff at the canddate s centre untl the closng date for enqures about results. 5 5 Ths does not exclude canddates rghts to access scrpts as detaled n Secton 10 of ths document. Secton 2 13

14 The relatonshp between awardng organsatons and centres Responsbltes of centres 2.4 The awardng organsaton must requre centres offerng ts examnatons to commt themselves to ensurng that: they meet the admnstratve requrements of the awardng organsaton they comply wth regulatons concernng the securty and confdentalty of external and controlled assessments they conduct external and controlled assessments n accordance wth the standards and procedures specfed by the awardng organsaton for the qualfcaton v nternal assessments are conducted by staff who have the approprate knowledge, understandng and sklls n the area beng assessed v assessment evdence provded by canddates has been produced and authentcated accordng to the requrements of the specfcaton v they secure the consstency of nternal assessment through nternal standardsaton where more than one assessor s nvolved v they aval themselves of the tranng and gudance offered by the awardng organsaton that s needed to ensure understandng of the expectatons of the specfcaton, ncludng attendance at any compulsory tranng sessons for nternal assessors v they retan canddates assessment evdence under secure condtons to allow for the possblty of enqures about results or appeals; f the nature of the work makes retenton of portfolos or artefacts a problem, nternal assessors must keep suffcent evdence (documentary, photographc, audotaped or vdeotaped, as approprate) to support ther judgements x publshed appeals procedures relatng to nternal assessment decsons are made wdely avalable and accessble to all canddates x they meet requests from the awardng organsaton for nformaton for the purposes of moderaton and montorng x they comply wth the procedures of the awardng organsaton for dealng wth and, as approprate, reportng malpractce. Reportng results 2.5 The awardng organsaton must report results on a consstent bass applcable to all specfcatons wthn a qualfcaton. Informaton about results must be presented n a clear and readly understood manner. Canddates, centres and other recpents of nformaton about results must receve such nformaton n a standard format. 2.6 The outcomes of the assessment of ndvdual unts must be reported. 14 Secton 2

15 Feedback to centres 2.7 The awardng organsaton must provde a mechansm for recevng and respondng to comments from centres and others about ther examnatons, and for provdng nformaton about the performance of canddates where approprate. Where an awardng organsaton offers examnatons through the medum of Welsh or Irsh, the awardng organsaton should have a publshed polcy about communcatng blngually wth the centres nvolved and nclude the polcy n ther customer servce statement. In the case of Welsh, the statement should have due regard to the prncple that n Wales both Welsh and Englsh wll be treated on the bass of equalty, n so far as t s both approprate n the crcumstances and reasonably practcable. 2.8 The awardng organsaton wll take steps to help ensure that centres carry out ther procedures correctly and that nstructons gven to centres have been followed. Support and gudance Ths secton of the code should be read n conjuncton wth Secton The awardng organsaton must ensure that centres have access to regular advce and gudance on the teachng and assessment of qualfcatons that are covered by ths code of practce, supported by meetngs as approprate The awardng organsaton must provde approprate support and gudance for teachers and nternal assessors when a specfcaton nvolvng new technques and approaches s ntroduced. Ths must take the form of wrtten gudance, supported by meetngs as approprate The awardng organsaton must provde opportuntes normally n the form of meetngs where teachers and nternal assessors can dscuss relevant qualfcatons ssues, partcularly n the case of new specfcatons where dffcultes may arse across centres The awardng organsaton must provde further gudance to centres that fal to meet the requrements for nternal assessment. Secton 2 15

16 Secton 3 Preparng queston papers, tasks and mark schemes Ths secton should be read n conjuncton wth Secton 5 and the approprate appendx. Ths secton sets out what the awardng organsatons must do to produce hgh-qualty queston papers, tasks and markng gudance. It covers: n ensurng that checks for qualty are n place n ensurng that the requred content s covered n queston papers n usng clear language n queston papers, tasks and markng nstructons. Dvson of responsbltes 3.1 The awardng organsaton personnel nvolved n settng queston papers, tasks and mark schemes nclude the char of examners, chef examner, prncpal examner(s), scrutneer, revser(s) and awardng organsaton offcer(s). Ther responsbltes are descrbed n Secton The chef examner and prncpal examner(s) are responsble for: v v demonstratng how the specfcaton s content and assessment crtera and objectves have been met n the queston paper or task; ths may take the form of a grd ensurng that the manner n whch the content s tested n questons s clear and ft for purpose ensurng that, where canddates can choose between questons, t can be demonstrated that any permtted combnaton of questons provdes for the coverage of a smlar balance of content and assessment crtera takng account of feedback from prevous assessment sessons, ncludng recommendatons from relevant montorng reports ensurng that fnal draft queston papers/tasks meet the specfcaton content and assessment objectves. The tmetable for draftng the queston papers, tasks and provsonal mark schemes must allow for all the above. 16 Secton 3

17 Preparng assessments ncludng provsonal mark schemes 3.3 Queston papers/tasks and provsonal mark schemes must be produced at the same tme. Awardng organsatons must make sure that they have contngency plans n place that allow them to react swftly n the event of queston paper securty beng breached before an examnaton. Assessment of wrtten communcaton 3.4 Where the scheme of assessment requres canddates to produce extended wrtten materal n Englsh, Irsh or Welsh, the marks awarded wll take nto account the qualty of wrtten communcaton as defned by the approprate qualfcaton-type crtera. Revsng the queston papers, tasks and provsonal mark schemes 3.5 The revser(s) must: scrutnse the ntal draft queston papers/tasks and mark schemes check that the nature and range of responses requred by the mark scheme are approprate comment on ndvdual questons and responses and the draft queston paper(s) as a whole. Account should be taken of feedback from prevous examnaton sessons, ncludng recommendatons from relevant montorng reports where these are avalable. 3.6 The ntal draft queston papers/tasks and mark schemes must be amended n the lght of the comments and forwarded, together wth the orgnal comments of the revser(s), to the awardng organsaton offcer for consderaton by the queston paper evaluaton commttee. Evaluatng assessments and mark schemes 3.7 A commttee, normally chared by the char of examners, must be convened to evaluate the queston papers/tasks. The chef examner and the prncpal examner responsble for the partcular unts/components must attend. In addton, the queston paper evaluaton commttee should nclude the revser(s) and may also nclude members of the subject communty who have recent and relevant teachng or examnng experence. Where there s more than one specfcaton n a subject wthn a partcular qualfcaton, membershp of the commttee should overlap (char of examners and at least one other member). Where the queston paper/task s to be offered through the medum of Welsh or Irsh, at least one member of the commttee should normally have the necessary expertse to advse on Welsh-/Irsh-medum ssues. Secton 3 17

18 Preparng queston papers, tasks and mark schemes 3.8 The commttee must be servced by an awardng organsaton offcer, who wll provde admnstratve and techncal support and gudance and ensure that awardng organsaton polces are observed. 3.9 When the draft queston papers/tasks and provsonal mark schemes are submtted to the commttee, they must be accompaned by the revser s comments and detals ndcatng where the content and assessment crtera for the specfcaton have been met n the queston papers/tasks The commttee wll seek to ensure that the challenge and level of demand of the queston papers/tasks and mark schemes are mantaned from one seres to the next, referrng, as approprate, to prevous years queston papers/tasks and mark schemes where these exst. For reasons of confdentalty the commttee should not expect to have sght of queston papers/tasks from the prevous seres where these have not been taken Where there s more than one specfcaton n a subject wthn a partcular qualfcaton type, the char of examners must seek to ensure that the queston papers/tasks set for the dfferent specfcatons make comparable demands on canddates The commttee wll ensure that the queston papers/tasks and provsonal mark schemes meet the requrements of the assessment crtera as set out n the specfcaton and that they are of consstently hgh qualty. As part of ths work, the commttee must ensure, where approprate, that: Rubrcs are presented n a standard format and consstent style that readly dstngushes them from questons are wrtten so that canddates can dstngush between advce, nstructons and nformaton ndcate where canddates are expected to produce extended wrtten materal, and where markng wll take nto account ther qualty of wrtten communcaton v detal any resources requred, such as dctonares, maps or calculators. Questons/tasks v are wthn the specfcaton v can be answered n the tme allowed v use language that s clear, precse and ntellgble to canddates v use source materal that does not cause offence because of napproprate subject matter or language 18 Secton 3

19 x are not dentcal n successve years or examnatons, except where ths s consstent wth the assessment model stated n the specfcaton. Queston papers or tasks x show mark allocatons x do not, as far as s practcable, advantage or dsadvantage partcular groups of canddates on grounds other than competence n the subject x make comparable demands on canddates who take alternatve routes n the specfcaton x dscrmnate effectvely across the range of attanment targeted by the assessment. Mark schemes xv nclude general nstructons on markng xv are clear and desgned so that they can be easly and consstently appled xv allocate marks commensurate wth the demands of questons/tasks xv nclude the mark allocaton for each queston/task and part of a queston/subtask, wth a more detaled breakdown where necessary xv nclude markng nstructons for those questons where extended wrtten answers are expected and the qualty of wrtten communcaton used by canddates wll be assessed xx nclude an ndcaton of the nature and range of responses, approprate to the subject, lkely to be worthy of credt xx state the acceptable responses to each queston/task, or part thereof, wth detal that allows markng n a standardsed manner xx allocate credt for what canddates know, understand and can do. Equpment or materals xx requred for any externally assessed test or task set by an awardng organsaton, ncludng practcals, are specfed n suffcent detal for the assessment to be carred out properly. The requrements for any such test/task should not make unreasonable demands on centres. Checkng the queston papers, tasks and provsonal mark schemes 3.13 The awardng organsatons must ensure that they have approprate arrangements n place to evaluate those queston papers/tasks and mark schemes that have been extensvely rewrtten at the orgnal queston paper evaluaton commttee meetng. Secton 3 19

20 Preparng queston papers, tasks and mark schemes 3.14 Queston papers/tasks and provsonal mark schemes wll be checked by the scrutneer. Ths process wll nclude: checkng the fnal drafts of the queston papers/tasks, wthout reference to the mark schemes, to ensure that the questons can be answered n the tme allowed and that there are no errors or omssons workng through the queston papers/tasks where approprate checkng the mark schemes to ensure that the marks gven are dentcal to those on the queston papers/tasks v preparng a report for the awardng organsaton offcer The report wll be sent to the chef examner, who must then approve any necessary changes to the queston papers/tasks and provsonal mark schemes The fnal draft queston papers/tasks and provsonal mark schemes must be submtted for fnal approval to the char of examners or awardng organsaton offcer. Where the external assessment s to be offered through the medum of Welsh or Irsh, the fnal Welsh-/Irsh-medum draft wll be checked by a Welsh-/Irsh-medum specalst who wll advse the char of examners or awardng organsaton offcer on ts approval Awardng organsaton offcers must alert approprate senor management f they beleve that a breach of the awardng organsaton s polcy has occurred. Senor management must act decsvely and promptly to mantan qualty and standards. 20 Secton 3

21 Secton 4 Standardsng markng: external assessment Ths secton apples to tradtonal and onlne markng. It should be read n conjuncton wth the approprate appendx. Ths secton does not apply to tems that are marked solely by computer, such as objectve test questons, or questons wth responses that lend themselves to auto-markng by computer. In such cases, computer markng must be desgned to ensure 100 per cent accuracy from the outset. Approprate qualty control systems should be used to confrm the accuracy of computer-marked tems. Ths secton sets out the processes that must be n place to ensure that canddates examnaton papers are marked consstently and accurately to an agreed standard. It covers: n tranng, montorng and supervsng examners n checkng the work of examners n acton to be taken f markng nstructons are not followed n revewng examner performance. Secton 4 21

22 Standardsng markng: external assessment Dvson of responsbltes 4.1 The awardng organsaton personnel nvolved n the standardsaton of markng nclude awardng organsaton offcer(s) and the followng examners: the char of examners, the chef examner, prncpal examner(s), assstant prncpal examners and team leaders, where apponted, and examners. Detals of ther responsbltes are gven n Secton There must be a chef examner responsble for the specfcaton as a whole. A prncpal examner must be responsble for the professonal judgements underpnnng the process of standardsaton for one or more specfed unts/components. An awardng organsaton offcer must be responsble at all tmes for supervsng and gudng the standardsaton process and ensurng that all steps n the process are followed. General markers 4.3 Indvduals who are not necessarly subject experts may mark canddates work where they are not requred to use a hgh level of subject expertse to nterpret the mark scheme. Such ndvduals, known as general markers, must be traned, supervsed and montored to ensure that they are markng accurately and consstently. 4.4 The procedures used to tran and montor general markers must be as rgorous as those set out for examners. These procedures must be fully documented. Markng canddates work 4.5 Canddates work dervng from externally assessed unts/components must be marked by sutably experenced and traned examners and general markers. They wll mark an tem, whch may be: a scrpt, whch s a canddate s entre response to an external assessment a number of questons or tasks wthn a scrpt one queston or task wthn a scrpt v part of a queston or task wthn a scrpt. 4.6 Examners and general markers wll normally mark canddates work from a number of dfferent centres, subject to ther total load beng manageable. They must declare any personal nterest n a centre before markng. They should not normally mark canddates work from any centre n whch they have a personal nterest unless markng anonymsed tems onlne. If an examner or general marker recognses a canddate s work, they must not mark t but must nstead seek gudance from the awardng organsaton on what acton to take. In the case of sole examners or general 22 Secton 4

23 markers where ths requrement cannot be appled, awardng organsatons must make arrangements to ensure that ths markng s scrutnsed. Number of examners 4.7 There must be one prncpal examner responsble for each unt/component, except where canddate numbers are small, when the chef examner may be responsble for all unts/ components and mark all of the work. Under such crcumstances the chef examner should have recourse to a second opnon, as should any examner who s the sole marker of a unt or component. Ths wll normally be provded by the char of examners. 4.8 In the nterests of relable markng and to reduce the scope for varablty, the awardng organsaton should ensure that markng s undertaken by the mnmum possble number of examners. In arrvng at ths mnmum number, the awardng organsaton must ensure that the amount of markng allocated to examners takes account of: v the nature of the unt/component beng assessed the tme requred to mark canddates work the experence of examners the amount of markng they are able to manage durng the markng perod, wthn lmts to be specfed by the awardng organsaton. Where prncpal examners, assstant prncpal examners and team leaders are apponted, the amount of markng allocated to each of them must take ther other dutes nto consderaton. 4.9 Where there are Welsh- or Irsh-medum tems, the allocaton of these tems to examners must ensure that standardsaton and montorng of markng can be undertaken even when the supervsng examner s not able to mark scrpts n the medum of Welsh or Irsh. Ths wll normally ental allocatng both Welsh-/Irsh- and Englsh-medum scrpts to Welsh-/Irsh-medum examners Where the number of examners requred demonstrably exceeds that whch a chef examner or prncpal examner could reasonably oversee unaded, an approprate supervsory structure must be establshed. If a team structure s used, the number of teams should be kept to the mnmum needed to secure relable and consstent markng. The relatonshps between and the functons of examners wth responsblty for supervsng others should be clearly specfed by the awardng organsaton to secure the effcent montorng and management of markng. Secton 4 23

24 Standardsng markng: external assessment Team membershp and tranng 4.11 Examners should have relevant experence n the subject area where ths s approprate. Markng teams should normally nclude a balance between new examners and examners wth pror markng experence. Where team leaders are apponted, they wll normally have examned for at least two years n the same or a related subject. The same requrement apples to prncpal examners and the chef examner, whose responsbltes are detaled n Secton New examners must receve approprate tranng to enable them to carry out ther dutes. Ths tranng may depend on whether they are: frst-tme examners, who need tranng on all aspects of the examnng process relevant to ther role before markng tems new to the awardng organsaton and requre tranng specfc to the awardng organsaton s procedures new to the partcular unt/component or specfcaton and requre tranng specfc to that unt/component or specfcaton. Durng examners frst markng perod, and on subsequent occasons f necessary, they should be allocated a mentor, normally a more senor examner, to provde close support throughout the markng perod. Frst-hand markng 4.13 Prncpal examners and, where apponted, assstant prncpal examners and team leaders should mark tems at frst-hand to gan drect evdence of the canddates nterpretaton of questons and the applcaton of the mark scheme. Prncpal examners and desgnated assstant prncpal examners should mark all tems across the paper to gan a feel for the canddates performance. The standardsaton process 4.14 The standardsaton process s desgned to make sure that all examners mark canddates work consstently and accurately. It establshes a common standard of markng that should be used to mantan the qualty of markng durng the markng perod All examners are expected to have studed and provsonally marked an agreed range of tems before standardsaton. 24 Secton 4

25 4.16 All examners must satsfactorly complete all aspects of the standardsaton process relevant to ther responsbltes; nablty or falure to do so wll result n dsqualfcaton from markng. Where dsqualfcaton occurs, the awardng organsaton must take steps to ensure that the ntegrty of the markng process s mantaned. Securng consstent applcaton of the mark scheme 4.17 The awardng organsaton must ensure that all examners have a well-founded and common understandng of the requrements of the mark scheme (approprate to ther responsbltes) and can apply them relably. Ths s the responsblty of the prncpal examner, whose professonal judgements on the nterpretaton and applcaton of the mark scheme for the unt/component must be fnal. Where there are large numbers of examners and a supervsory structure has been set up, the awardng organsaton must ensure that coordnaton of all assstant prncpal examners and team leaders takes place to ensure consstency of practce The process of helpng to secure the consstent applcaton of the mark scheme must nclude: v v an admnstratve brefng from the awardng organsaton that ncludes reference to ths secton of the code, awardng organsaton procedures, tme schedules, admnstratve documentaton and contact ponts an explanaton from the prncpal examner of the nature and sgnfcance of the standardsaton process a brefng from the prncpal examner on relevant ponts arsng from current examnatons, drawng as necessary on relevant ponts made about prevous examnatons n chef examners reports and regulatory montorng reports a dscusson of markng ssues, ncludng: full consderaton of the mark scheme n the context of achevng a clear and common understandng of the range of acceptable responses and the marks approprate for each tem beng marked, and comparable markng standards for optonal questons handlng of unexpected, yet acceptable, answers the markng of a number of common, clean responses suffcent to: llustrate the range of performance lkely to be demonstrated by the canddates n an examner s allocaton help consoldate a common understandng of the mark scheme, ncludng any crtera for the assessment of wrtten communcaton. Secton 4 25

26 Standardsng markng: external assessment 4.19 Where changes are made to the orgnal mark scheme, the revsed mark scheme must be agreed and authorsed by the prncpal examner. An awardng organsaton offcer must be responsble for provdng the revsed mark scheme, whch s ssued to all examners durng or wthn one workng day of standardsaton. Examners must not fnalse any markng untl they have receved ths authorsed revsed verson. In the case of small-entry examnatons, even where there s only one examner, fnal detaled mark schemes must be prepared. Intal samplng to ensure consstent applcaton of the mark scheme 4.20 Immedately after standardsaton examners must mark a sample of tems (whch may nclude the re-markng of those marked provsonally before standardsaton) for checkng by a more senor examner. The sample wll normally be not less than 10 of each allocated tem. Ths sample should also: cover the range of performance wthn the allocated tems as far as possble cover as many dfferent types of response as possble. The awardng organsaton should have defned procedures n place that seek to ensure that prncpal examners markng s consstent Followng standardsaton, senor examners must check the marked samples of the examners for whom they are responsble to ensure that the authorsed mark schemes are beng accurately and consstently appled. A record must be kept of the marks awarded by both examners and of the feedback gven to the ntal examner Examners must not complete markng untl they have receved clearance from the relevant senor examners. Where senor examners are not satsfed wth the qualty of an examner s markng, they must explan the reasons to the examner concerned. A further sample of marked tems, normally the same sze, should then be sent to the senor examner for checkng. Only f markng s then satsfactory should an examner be allowed to proceed. Examners who do not dsplay suffcent care, accuracy or consstency when applyng the mark scheme at ths stage must not be allowed to contnue markng and ther tems should be reallocated. Montorng markng and takng correctve acton 4.23 The process of montorng and takng correctve acton to ensure that all examners are markng consstently and accurately must be fully recorded to provde an audt tral. 26 Secton 4

27 4.24 The systems put n place to montor markng may vary accordng to the method adopted by the awardng organsaton: ether tradtonal or onlne markng. The requrements for each method are set out below. Awardng organsatons must meet the requrements set out n the approprate subsecton. Tradtonally marked scrpts 4.25 The markng of all examners who have been cleared by ther senor examners must contnue to be montored by a senor examner and, f necessary, the approprate correctve acton taken. The montorng must nclude samplng of suffcent scale, range and frequency for the awardng organsaton to demonstrate that confdence can be placed n the montorng process. Marks from ths samplng process should be recorded by the senor examner and used to construct a profle of the qualty of markng of each examner n terms of accuracy, consstency and lenency/severty A revew of the entre markng process must be undertaken to decde f any adjustments should be made to the marks of ndvdual examners. The revew must nvolve the awardng organsaton offcer, chef examner, prncpal examners and, where apponted, team leaders. The awardng organsaton offcer has fnal responsblty for mplementng any adjustments made to the marks of ndvdual examners. Where adjustments are made to the marks of examners who have marked both Welsh-/Irshand Englsh-medum scrpts, the marks for scrpts n both languages must be changed Adjustments to the marks of ndvdual examners must only be made after reference to: v suffcent scrpts marked by the ndvdual examner to confrm, or refute, any suspected shft n accuracy, consstency and lenency/severty how the markng of ndvdual examners compares wth that of the relevant senor examners approprate statstcal evdence, for example raw mark dstrbutons where possble, the dstrbuton of performance of the same canddates on dfferent papers marked by dfferent examners Where the revew shows that examner naccuraces have occurred, postve or negatve adjustments of approprate sze should be made across the relevant range of marks. To be far to canddates, awardng organsatons must ensure that adjustments do not change the rank order of marks gven by the examner, unless the examner has been demonstrably nconsstent The process of adjustment must be fully documented for subsequent reference f necessary. Secton 4 27

28 Standardsng markng: external assessment Onlne marked tems 4.30 The markng of all examners must contnue to be montored by a senor examner and, f necessary, approprate correctve acton taken. The montorng must nclude samplng of suffcent scale, range and frequency for the awardng organsaton to demonstrate that confdence can be placed n the montorng process. Marks from ths samplng process should be recorded and used to construct a profle of the qualty of markng of each examner n terms of accuracy, consstency and lenency/severty The markng of ndvdual examners wll be compared wth that of a senor examner at regular ntervals throughout the process. Acton wll be taken, where requred, to correct examner naccuraces. The awardng organsaton offcer wll take fnal responsblty for mplementng adjustments made to the marks of ndvdual examners. Ths correctve acton wll nclude: removng the examner from markng an tem or tems and the re-markng of those tems already marked removng the examner from the entre markng process and the re-markng of all tems marked to date. Checkng markng 4.32 The processng of the examnaton must nclude checks to ensure that all marks have been accurately recorded and transcrbed and that any adjustments have been correctly appled and the marks accurately amended. All tems must be checked for ncomplete markng and errors n totallng The awardng organsaton should montor and evaluate the performance of examners and take approprate acton to mantan standards n current and future examnatons. Ths may nclude further tranng. Markng revew for tradtonally marked scrpts 4.34 There may be cases where some doubt remans about whether the marks gven to a canddate or group of canddates are accurate. The purpose of the markng revew s to ensure that such cases are dentfed and remedal acton taken where necessary The markng revew wll consst of a re-markng of scrpts marked by examners about whom there s lngerng doubt. 6 Each externally assessed component wll be treated n ths manner when t s awarded. Other canddates work may be ncluded n the 6 For GCSE lnear specfcatons, the markng revew must nclude the re-markng by senor examners of components marked by examners about whom there s lngerng doubt, where canddates aggregate marks are one per cent or less below the C/D grade boundary. 28 Secton 4

29 markng revew f the awardng organsaton and/or chef/prncpal examner consders there to be good reason to do so, such as sgnfcant dscrepances between estmated grades and provsonal grades After the re-markng by senor examners of those canddates work dentfed as ndcated n paragraphs 4.34 and 4.35, the revsed mark wll replace the orgnal mark and the result wll be automatcally recalculated Where an awardng organsaton offers examnatons through the medum of Welsh or Irsh, the procedures for markng revew must allow for the revew, as approprate, of the work of Welsh-/Irsh-medum canddates. Supervsng externally assessed set assgnments 4.38 The awardng organsaton must specfy the condtons under whch externally set assgnments should be undertaken. The condtons specfed must facltate the supervson and authentcaton of canddates work by the centre The awardng organsaton must requre centres to record full detals of the nature of any substantal assstance gven to ndvdual canddates that s beyond that of the teachng group as a whole, but wthn the parameters lad down by the specfcaton The awardng organsaton must requre centres to confrm that they have satsfed themselves that the work s that of the canddate and has been carred out wthn the parameters governng assstance. The centre must present a wrtten declaraton that the canddate s assgnment was conducted under the requred condtons. The awardng organsaton must make centres aware of the lkely consequences f excessve assstance outsde the parameters of the specfcaton s gven. Retanng evdence 4.41 The awardng organsaton must ensure that canddates work s avalable for reference durng the awardng meetng. All work must be retaned for a suffcent perod of tme thereafter to allow for the possblty of enqures about results or appeals. Secton 4 29

30 The responsbltes of awardng organsatons and awardng organsaton Secton 5 personnel Standardsng markng and moderaton: nternal assessment Throughout ths secton, centre should be taken to mean centre or consortum. Ths secton should be read n conjuncton wth the approprate appendx. Ths secton sets out the arrangements to ensure that canddates nternally assessed work s marked consstently and accurately, to an agreed standard. It covers: n the systems for settng, authentcatng, supervsng and assessng ths nternally assessed work n tranng, montorng and supervsng moderators n acton to be taken f the agreed standards are not appled or procedures are not followed n revewng moderator performance. Dvson of responsbltes 5.1 The awardng organsaton personnel nvolved n the assessment and moderaton of nternal assessments ncludes the char of examners, chef examner, prncpal moderator, assstant prncpal moderators and team leaders, where apponted, moderators and awardng organsaton offcer(s). Detals of ther responsbltes are descrbed n Secton The awardng organsaton must appont a prncpal moderator for each nternally assessed unt/component. The prncpal moderator must have substantal relevant experence of teachng and assessment n the subject area concerned. 5.3 The awardng organsaton must appont moderators and, where necessary, assstant prncpal moderators and team leaders wth relevant teachng and assessment experence. The number of moderators apponted must be suffcent to ensure that standards n a gven specfcaton can be algned effectvely wthn and across centres to the tmescale requred. Moderators must, wherever possble, consder work from several centres, subject to ther total load beng manageable, and must not normally 30 Secton 5