Controlled assessment

1
Controlled assessment

• Two guides for this are on the website only
• A practical guide to controlled assessment
• Exemplars for controlled assessment
• These are essential reading.

2
What do I need to start?

• You need to decide on which topic area and which
  title you are going to use with your teaching
  groups.
• You need to consider whether you are going to
  contextualise the sources or the question focus.
• You need to get familiar with the WJEC set mark
  scheme
• You need to send off a proposal form

3
Who can I contact for help?

• Phil Star, subject officer for History
• phil.star_at_wjec.co.uk 02920 265125
• Steve James, subject support officer for History
• steve.james_at_wjec.co.uk 02920 265029
• There is a system of consultative moderators
  established to ease approval of controlled
  assessment titles. Proposal forms must be sent by
  post or e-mail to the subject support officer at
  WJEC at least ten weeks before centres start
  their controlled assessment tasks. The subject
  support officer will log these in and send them
  to a consultative moderator for advice.
• If you have general queries about controlled
  assessment, you can contact the GCSE Section via
  the switchboard on 02920 265000 or email
  gcse_at_wjec.co.uk

4
What topics can be chosen?

• WJEC has set three topic areas for controlled
  assessment for 2011-2012. These are
• Political, social and economic developments in
  Wales and England in the nineteenth or twentieth
  centuries.
• The effects of war on Wales and England in the
  nineteenth or twentieth centuries
• The role and significance of major figures in
  British or world history
• You must choose one of these topic areas as long
  as it doesnt overlap with your choice of
  examined course.

5
What content must be studied for this unit?

• It is necessary for centres to teach a range of
  relevant aspects of subject content relating to
  the chosen topic.
• The prescribed content is much wider than that
  currently undertaken by centres for their
  internal assessment.
• This will ensure substantial and coherent
  coverage of the history of the chosen topic.
• This complies with the regulations in the
  National Criteria for GCSE History.
• The teacher guide provides more detail.

6
How much controlled assessment has to be
completed?

• Controlled assessment is worth 25 of the total
  marks for GCSE History.
• Consequently, there are two pieces of work to be
  completed.
• These assignments are called part (a) and part
  (b).
• The two assignments must be linked on the same
  content area.

7
TASK SETTING

• This aspect of controlled assessment has high
  control.
• This means that the tasks must be set by WJEC.
• Centres do have the opportunity to contextualise
  these tasks.

8
What is contextualisation ?

• You will be allowed to change or add to the
  sources in the exemplars.
• You can change the focus of the set task to
  reflect a local or regional area.
• You can seek to change the question subject to a
  more appropriate one for that topic area.
• The teacher guide gives more advice on this
  issue.

9
What will the tasks look like? Part (a)

• Part (a) will focus on the use of sources in an
  enquiry.
• It follows this style
• There were many examples of rural protest in
  Wales and England in the nineteenth century. One
  of these was the Rebecca Riots.
• Select any five sources from your pack.
• How useful and reliable are these sources in
  explaining why the Rebecca Riots were seen as a
  threat to society in the mid-nineteenth century?
• Part (a) gives candidates the opportunity to
  analyse and evaluate relevant historical sources
  when undertaking an enquiry into an aspect of
  history.
• Part (a) will be marked separately and is worth
  20 marks.
• Further advice can be found in the teacher guide
  appendix A.

10

• Part (b)
• Part (b) will focus on the forming of historical
  interpretations. It follows this style
• Some people have the view that British generals
  like Haig were incompetent leaders.
• How far do your sources support or contradict
  this interpretation?
• Part (b) gives candidates the opportunity to
  discuss an issue of historical debate which
  arises from the chosen topic area. The task must
  give candidates the opportunity to analyse and
  evaluate at least two different historical
  interpretations of the chosen issue.
• Part (b) will be marked separately and is worth
  30 marks
• Further advice can be found in the teacher guide
  appendix B

11
Do I have to set different questions every year?

• Yes. The regulators are very clear on this.
• You cannot set the same question or use the same
  narrow subject area in consecutive years.
• After the initial two year cycle, you will be
  allowed to re-use questions.

12
Are there any forms to fill in?

• Yes. All centres have to provide a proposal
  form.
• WJEC has to provide evidence of what topics
  centres are teaching to prove they are doing
  enough British history.
• There is a proposal form in the teacher guide and
  also on the website.
• If you use WJEC titles there is no need to supply
  sources.
• If a centre decides to set its own titles it will
  also have to submit the full range of sources to
  be used.

13
Task taking

• This aspect of controlled assessment is split
  into two stages
• Research and preparation.
• This has a limited level of control.
• Analysis and evaluation of findings.
• This has a high level of control.

14
Research and preparation

• This is where the candidates do their preparatory
  work, learning about the
• historical context of the chosen topic area and
  working on the evaluation of
• the selected sources and the historical
  interpretations.
• The teacher can give as much help at this stage
  as in a normal
• classroom situation
• It is good practice to record regularly any
  advice given to students at
• this stage. However, WJEC will not normally
  expect to see evidence of this
• aspect.
• It is recommended that the whole research and
  preparation stage for
• parts (a) and (b) should take between 8 and 10
  weeks in total.

15

• Analysis and
• evaluation of findings
• This is where the candidates finally get to
  answer each
• question.
• This is done under formal supervision, normally
  in
• lesson time.
• Teachers have to supervise and can offer
  clarification, but they
• cannot give suggestions or solutions to
  candidates which influence
• their work.
• Candidates can have between five to eight hours
  to complete the
• work. They do not have to do both exercises
  together. They can
• be split.
• Any work not completed at the end of a supervised
  session must
• be collected in by the teacher and stored
  securely.

16
Frequently asked questions

• In the analysis and evaluation stage, candidates
  can use only the material that they have gathered
  and worked on during the research and preparation
  stage.
• If a centre can arrange for candidates to have
  access to computers in all the evaluation
  sessions, then the work can be completed using
  ICT. Otherwise it will have to be hand-written.
• It is recommended that part (a) should be around
  800 words and part (b) around 1200 words. There
  will be no penalty any more for exceeding word
  limit.
• Each task should be submitted on A4 paper. At
  the higher levels it should be written in
  seamless form in an essay style.

17
Task marking

• Controlled assessment tasks are marked internally
  by teachers in the school.
• Teachers mark the work by applying the generic
  mark scheme supplied by WJEC. These generic
  statements can be applied to all the tasks set.
• Annotation can be written in the text (marginal)
  or at the end (terminal) or on the marking
  checklist. Annotation should use the wording
  from the mark schemes.
• Each piece of work should be accompanied by the
  marking checklist found in the teacher guide.

18
The Marking Scheme

• Each part has a separate marking scheme
• Generic marking schemes are found in the teachers
  guide.
• These are suitable for all questions set
• There is no need to add any indicative content
• There are four levels for each assessment
  objective.

19
Part (a)

• Part a assesses
• AO1 Knowledge and understanding
• QWC
• AO3 Evaluation of sources eg
• Selection, utility, reliability

20
Part (b)

• Part (b) assesses
• AO1 Knowledge and understanding
• QWC
• AO2 Explanation and judgement
• AO3 Historical interpretations
• Selection, discussion of different views of
  history

21
Marking checklist

• The teacher guide contains a marking checklist to
  assist marking. This is designed to provide a
  final judgement for the moderators.
• It should be used to accompany the annotated
  work.
• Tick the statements that apply in each level.
• Ring the mark awarded.
• Comments can be written if appropriate.
• Final total and signature should be supplied.

22
Completing the assessments one teachers view

• I tackled the work in one day as planned.
• I was able to teach both exercises although all
  of them had to complete the interpretation at
  home. I have had it in today.
• Doing it at speed has produced a range of
  responses but this was what was expected.
• They liked the idea of doing the answers in class
  and with a limited time-frame. They felt that
  would ease the burden of coursework and be
  fairer.
• They were interested in the reduced number of
  sources. Predictably, the weaker candidates loved
  the idea of working with fewer while the better
  ones felt they would have liked more choice. This
  was true of both exercises.
• Once I had explained the mark scheme they found
  it accessible and not that different from the
  current one.
• All in all a successful day. They were very keen
  and said they were flattered to have been asked.