SF2 (National)

Summative Report Form: NOCN Quality Reviewer

Standardisation Tier: / Regional / National X
Level: / 1, 2 and 3
NOCN Quality Reviewer: / Mary Riddiford
Date of standardisation: / 14th July 2008

1. Assessment Activities

Level 3
The 1000 word written description was sampled:
The majority of schools and colleges had used an essay type activity for the 1000 word written description.
One college had used a portfolio of evidence that was assessed as one coherent piece of work.
Both activities are acceptable to meet the requirements of the prescribed written description activity as long as the portfolio is one coherent, continuous piece of work that is assessed as one piece of work. It was agreed that the prescribed assessment activity ‘Written Description’ gave scope for flexibility of evidence and as long as the evidence was a coherent, continuous piece of work which is assessed as one piece of work it would meet NOCN requirements.
Level 2
The reflective log (a prescribed assessment activity) was sampled. It was agreed that this was an appropriate assessment activity but that care needed to be taken to ensure the log was ‘reflective’ , mapped to the respective assessment criteria , marked by the teacher and not just a record of the lesson.
Level 1
A wide range of assessment activities are being used including, reflective log, presentations, production of artefacts, discussions etc.
There was discussion around the introduction of a prescribed assessment activity for Level 1. However it was agreed that this would be trialled within the dioceses in 2008-2009 to allow for local determination and flexibility and reported on at the 08/09 standardisation event..

2. Assessment Tasks

Level 3
The majority of assessment tasks being used were designed as students’ responses to essay questions. By and large in the samples provided there was no reference to the Learning Outcomes/Assessment Criteria being covered by the task. This made it difficult to judge what was being assessed.
However there were some good examples of assessment tasks which clearly stated what the learners were expected to do and the level the level/standard of work required. These will be used as exemplar assessment tasks to support teachers/tutors in the development of clear tasks that are referenced to the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria.
Levels 1 and 2
A range of assessment tasks were being used–there were some good examples of clear tasks cross referenced to learning outcomes but a significant number of samples did not guide the student as to what was expected of them at what standard. Exemplar tasks will be circulated to support the development of more explicit assessment tasks for next year.

3. Students’ Work

It was clear that very good work is being carried out in the schools and colleges and we saw some excellent pieces of students’ work across all levels. However there are a number of issues that need addressing for the future:
·  There were few assessment tasks clearly cross referenced in some way to the respective Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria.
·  Some students’ work was not clearly marked by the teacher/tutor to provide evidence of successful achievement
·  Some good examples of the Reflective Log were presented but care needs to be taken to ensure the log is ‘reflective’, mapped to the respective assessment criteria, marked by the teacher and not just a record of the lesson.
·  Some good examples of evidence from group discussions was provided but care needs to be taken to ensure that the learning – not just the attendance is recorded
·  Some evidence presented were power point presentations/handouts – without any assessment tasks attached or the evidence being clearly marked by the teacher.

4. Good Practice

Some excellent and innovative work was sampled which clearly demonstrated the students’ engagement with the course being delivered.
Samples of work from all levels were selected as examples of good practice. These will be made available for 2008-2009.

5. Key Issues/Action

From the samples of work seen at the diocesan and national standardisation events NOCN is generally satisfied that an appropriate standard of work is being completed by students. There are however a number of issues that need to be addressed for 2008-2009. Given that this is the first year of implementation for the NOCN General Religious Education qualifications this is to be expected and NOCN will be providing further guidance and support for centres.
The key issues identified were:
· Schools and Colleges need to use a range of appropriate assessment tasks which are cross referenced to respective Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria
· Student’s work needs to be clearly marked to indicate students’ achievement
· Evidence of learning and not just attendance needs to be provided for tasks such as group discussion, outside speakers
· The reflective log must be more reflective mapped to the respective assessment criteria , marked by the teacher and not just a record of the lesson.
· Schools and Colleges need to ensure that are clear about their understanding of Levels i.e. that work is being assessed at the correct level
· Schools and Colleges need to review their understanding of levels following the outcomes of standardisation
· The development of Internal Verification processes to ensure that there is a clear plan for the year
· The development of tracking systems to clearly indicate learner achievement
· Exams offices/administrators need more guidance on the NOCN process
Action:
For 2008 -2009 NOCN will be providing:
·  A briefing session for diocesan Heads of RE in the autumn term which will include a power point presentation that Heads of RE can take back to brief their teams
·  Exemplar benchmark assessment tasks for each level of qualification
·  Exemplar recording documents for different assessment activities
·  Examples of ‘good’ pieces of level 1, 2 and 3 work
NOCN will also be providing:
·  A revised qualification handbook
·  A revised Secondary Advisers handbook
· A tutors handbook for schools and colleges, which will include guidance on Internal Verification and assessment
· An administrators guide to the registration process
Other issues and Actions:
Funding
Any funding issues to be referred to Fr Jo Quigley
Developments
·  NOCN will investigate the issue of UCAS points and also the possibility of developing a larger qualification at Level 3 i.e. a Certificate if there is sufficient demand.
·  NOCN is currently in the process of submitting a proposal for an entry level qualification to QCA. Approval is not guaranteed for September 2008 – further information will be circulated when available
·  NOCN is currently in the process of submitting a proposal for enabling the qualifications to be delivered to pre 16 learners and to centres in Wales. Approval is not guaranteed for September 2008 – further information will be circulated when available
Registration arrangements for 08/09
Registration Deadlines
For 2008/09 students starting in September should be registered within 12 weeks from the start of the course with the deadline of Friday 12 December 2008. However, students may be registered beyond this date and up to Friday 27 March 2009, but a late registration fee will be charged at £5.00 per learner.
It was suggested that if tutors set three assignments designed to generate three good pieces of work in the first term in order to gauge which learners are likely to pass and register accordingly. Planning early assessment activities will provide a good indication of achievement and retention.
Registration to different levels
If fewer than 10% of the registered learners need to be changed this can be done by hand and approved by the QR. If over 10% then the learners will have to be re-registered and a charge will be levied.
Date of National Standardisation 2009: Monday 13th July

6. Authorisation

Signed: Mary Riddiford Date: July 23rd 2008
NOCN Lead Officer

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