This is the current plan for how we will assess Benchmark 8.
Please note as we receive more information from the DfE and Exam Boards we may need to change this plan.
There is a lot of important information here please read it carefully
Rational
We want to assess the whole course with a focus on year 2 work. In conditions that are as fair as possible and give everyone the maximum chance to perform at their best.
We already know we cannot use this as a sole final assessment but we feel it should be more strongly weighted than a normal benchmark. the current plan is for it to be worth double a normal benchmark in a similar way that the end of year 1 assessment was worth more than other benchmarks towards your ARG grade.
We currently plan to use your ARG Grade as part of the final Teacher Assessed Grade BUT we don't yet know how this will be done. I'm really sorry I can't give you any more information, but we are still waiting for guidance.
Assessment Plan
I want to run several smaller assessments over the 4 weeks after Easter. They will Either be Taken from the bank of unreleased questions that AQA makes available to teachers for mocks in a normal year OR the bank of questions the government intents to publically release at some point. (My very strong suspicion is that these are the same questions!)
All papers will be done on paper, they will be 30-->45 mins in length and completed in class. We have positioned them so there is as little time between different classes taking the test as possible. unfortunately, this is unavoidable so we are looking at how to make slight changes to the papers whilst keeping them fair..
Any cheating or passing on of information about tests between students will be treated in the same was as formal exams this could mean scoring zero on a paper or even the whole series of assessments.
If you miss an assessment you will need to sit an alternative paper before the end of the half term. Any assessments completely missed and not sat at another time will score zero and will have a negative effect on the overall grade for BM8. Any special circumstances will be handled by senior management at the college.
The topics quoted below include year 1 content and content. A-Level papers are synoptic and often include a real mix of topics. BUT the main thrust of all the questions in a given week will be focused on the topic listed here:
Assessment Week 1 (beginning 19/04)
Options (separate paper)
Particles, Nuclear, Thermal, Gasses
Assessment Week 2 (beginning 26/04)
Mechanics, SHM, Circular Motion, Gravitational Fields
Multi-choice quiz 1 (online completed on a Wednesday afternoon)
Assessment Week 3 (beginning 03/05)
DC/AC Electricity, Capacitance, Electric Fields
Assessment Week 4 (beginning 10/05)
Waves, Quantum, Magnetic fields and induction
Multi-choice quiz 2 (online completed on a Wednesday afternoon)
Test times:
Options Topic: (45 mins)
C= Monday 19th April 10:45
D=Monday 19th April 12:15
E=Tuesday 20th April 9:00
G=Tuesday 20th April 14:30
Core Assessments:(30->45 mins) Same time each week! (your teacher may choose to run the test later in the lesson slot)
C= Fridays 14:30
D= Thursdays 14:30
E= Fridays 12:15
G= Fridays 10:45
ALL special exam arrangements will be followed, you will need to discuss with your class teacher the best way for you to take extra-time, classrooms count as "small rooms" for exam purposes. Please talk to us well beforehand if there is anything else that could unfairly disadvantage you in these assessments.
I know this seems a lot BUT it is only a little more than 2 big papers, remember this is NOT a final assessment, but it will form an important data point that we use in conjunction with everything else to determine your TAG (Teacher Assessed Grade).
This information is subject to guidance from the DfE and Exam Boards that will determine college policy. I wanted to get our current plan ut to you so you can prepare, I hope any changes to the plan will be tweaks rather than complete rewrites.
Other colleges may have completely different methodologies for assessment and forming TAGs. At the current time, there isn't a national system.