Workshop at GA Conference 2017, developed by Rachel Kay, Tanith Ludlam, Kathryn Stephenson and Alan Parkinson

1. Workshop 21- KS4 Tackling exam
questions in new specifications
No more tiers!
Can you write
out the 4
Assessment
Objectives for
the new GCSEs?

2. Presented by the
GA Secondary Phase Committee
Ryan Bate, Gary Dawson, Judy Gleen, Paul
Hunt, Emma Johns, Rebecca Kitchen, Beth
Laing and Stephen Schwab
For this workshop, Rachel Kay,
Tanith Ludlam, Alan Parkinson and
Kathryn Stephenson

3. During this workshop, we’ll look at
Why have tiers been removed?
What do the assessment objectives actually
mean?
How can we tackle the hardest questions and
make them accessible for all learners?
How are questions developed (using
resources)?

4. What problem does this create?
What was the original purpose of tiers?
To offer an exam tailored to the ability of the
candidates. This would mean that students wouldn’t
sit a paper with questions that were too easy for
them or find that there were questions that they
simply couldn’t answer.
It often limits aspiration (by teachers and students)
with students being directed to, and prepared for,
the lower tier papers when, with good teaching and
support, they could aim for the higher tier!

5. What’s the position with the new GCSEs?
There will be new,
more demanding
content, which has
been developed by
government and the
exam boards.
Ofqual
Exams can only be split into
‘foundation tier’ and ‘higher tier’ if
one exam paper does not give all
students the opportunity to show
their knowledge and abilities. (This
does not include Geography!)
Ofqual
Our mission
To ensure that no tiers creates no tears i.e.
to ensure that all student can access the
questions.

6. What do the Assessment Objectives actually
mean?
Have you got these...........?

7. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
1.

8. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
2.

9. How are the AOs used?
Quiz.....which ones? How many?
3.

10. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
4.

11. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
5.

12. How are the AOs used?
Quiz........which ones? How many marks?
6.

13. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
7.

14. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
8.

15. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
9.

16. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
10.

17. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
1.
No
Assessment
Objectives

18. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
2.

19. How are the AOs used?
Quiz.....which ones? How many?
3.

20. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
4.

21. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
5.

22. How are the AOs used?
Quiz........which ones? How many marks?
6.

23. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
7.

24. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
8.

25. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
9.

26. How are the AOs used?
Quiz......which ones? How many marks?
10.

27. How can we tackle the hardest questions and make them
accessible for all learners?

28. The most difficult questions
‘Many pupils lose confidence in exams
when faced with questions which appear
complex or are set in unfamiliar contexts.
They fail to do themselves justice even
though their knowledge and understanding
is sufficient to answer questions correctly.’
AQA

29. Examples

30. The difficulties?
How to make these questions accessible
for all pupils
• A template
• Mnemonics
• Literacy support: - Starter sentences –
Keywords – Connectives
• Analysis of pupil answers

31. Choose either an earthquake or a
volcanic eruption. Assess the extent
to which primary effects are more
significant than secondary effects.
Use Figure 5a or 5b and an example
you have studied. [9 marks]
The command phrase is ‘to what extent’, so the focus of
the question is an evaluation of the importance of
primary and secondary effects. There should be a
discursive element which addresses whether, and to
what extent, primary effects are more significant than
secondary effects.

32. BUGS
• Box the command
word
• Underline keywords
• Go back to the start
and re-read the
question
• Start a plan if it’s a
bigger question

33. BUG for Lower Ability
to gain access to level 1 on the 9 mark
questions
• Block out the command word
• Underline the keywords
• Go back and re-read the
question again
• Write as much as they can about
the keywords in the question.
• This may help pupils access level 1
and in doing so could access SPaG
marks.
Assess the
extent to
which primary
effects are
more
significant than
secondary
effects.

34. Assess/evaluate starter sentences
• This clearly shows that..
• Primary effects could be greater/less severe
because..
• Secondary effects could be greater/less severe
because..
• This would be worse because/ this would be
better because..

35. • Colour code the sample answer

36. Student response A

37. How are questions developed (using resources)?

38. Evaluation
Take a Post-it note and write a score for this
workshop....from 1 to 9.
Then, give us some feedback.
What was useful?
What could have been better?