GCSE ICT curriculum is ripe for rethink by QCA
ICT test decision a 'personalisation' breakthrough?
The key stage 3 ICT test is to be reworked so that it can be used for formative assessment of students when they are ready, in line with current thinking on personalisation. Dr Ken Boston, chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has revealed the thinking behind the decision, announced by schools minister Jon Knight at BETT 2007, in the current edition of the key stage 3 online test "e-magazine", Countdown, issued to secondary schools by the National Assessment Agency (NAA).
Expanding on Jim Knight's decision to make the ICTY test non-compulsory, Dr Boston, said: "Instead, it will serve as a valuable educational tool aimed at supporting teaching and learning, to promote pupil progression. Therefore, in accordance with this aim, improvements will be made to the existing ICT test, to make it more useful for formative assessment. The test is moving away from being an end of key stage summative assessment, to a new focus on formative assessment materials.
"These materials will provide feedback for both teachers and pupils that can be used to achieve better progress and results. It will also provide greater flexibility, allowing schools to decide when the best time is for individual pupils to be assessed."
Dr Boston, who said that 90 per cent of schools were now ready for the KS3 online ICT test, urged schools in the pilot to continue with the 2007 tests during the summer so that they could "continue to influence the shape of e-assessment".
Countdown gives four reasons why schools should take part:
- "Pupils will be able to take the practice test and both they and their teacher will be able to use the formative reports to inform progress.
- "The test will provide an independent assessment of pupils' ICT capability and give a national curriculum ICT level for all pupils who complete the summative test. These results can be used to inform teachers' own assessments.
- "Staff administering the pilot will gain valuable experience in using on-screen assessment systems and pupils will gain experience of taking e-assessments.
- "The test can be used for standardising teacher assessment as it provides consistency across all the ICT subject teachers in a school."
The NAA took control of the KS3 ICT test in April 2006 and its chief executive, David Gee, recommended to the QCA that the focus of the test, due to become statutory in 2008, should be changed. According to QCA minutes, he advised "...the test should be used as an integral and standardised tool for informing teacher assessment, where it would contribute as a component of the overall mark, rather than making it a full statutory test with results included in national performance tables". The QCA agreed and the advice then went through to the Department for Education and SkillsContacts.
You can find out about the QCA's vision for e-assessment at:
www.qca.org.uk/6877.html
And its KEY Stage 3 Review at:
http://www.qca.org.uk/14931.html
The NAA's advice for the KS3 ICT test, and registration for the Countdown newsletter can be found at:
www.naa.org.uk/naaks3/
