Assessment methods for centre assessed grades for GCSE and A level

Assessment methods for centre assessed grades for GCSE and A level

There are many benefits to teachers of using whole past exam papers for centre assessed grades.

The Exam House provides GCSE & A Level exams for private candidates.

Support materials, in particular mark schemes and grade boundary data are aligned to whole papers (Common Assessment).

Why support around the Common Assessments methods should be guidance-focussed, not rules-based, to maximise flexibility to address Differential Lost Learning and Teaching (DLLT) and minimise the administrative burden for teachers.

Common Assessments will not be timetabled, to maximise flexibility and to minimise challenge around “replacing exams with exams”.

While test windows may have superficial attraction, they would actually serve little purpose as confidentiality is lost the moment the window opens, and windows would have to be reasonably lengthy to provide flexibility.

JCQ therefore recommend teachers have flexibility as to when students undertake Common Assessments.

This will also allow students remote access, if, for example, teachers set a Common Assessment as part of an online Zoom lesson.

Supplementary support materials will include:

mark schemes;

grade boundaries;

standardisation materials where available;

exemplar materials;

archive scripts;

performance and grade descriptions – could be of use in some subjects (e.g. Maths and Science) but less so in others; o data by question level; and o modified question papers