SETTING NATIONAL EXAMINATION PAPERS under the New Curriculum

PARADIGM SHIFTS? Some consistency from the past…. But….. Not just the same old thing…..

X NORMS-REFERENCED “I got 55% - the class average was 50% and you got only 48%”

CRITERIA-DRIVEN Okay – who was able to do it? Who achieved the Topic?

START WITH BROAD TOPICS NOT CONTENT Unfortunately educators may have tended to ignore these and simply focus on content or topics If exam papers do not reflect the Broad Topics then this exacerbates the problem

S K V&A HIGH KNOWLEDGE & HIGH SKILLS REPORT

STEP 1: BROAD TOPICS FIRST BROAD TOPICS

TOPICS THEORY PRACTICAL

STEP 2: TOPICS TOPICS

STEP 3: THEORY THEORY

STEP 4: PRACTICAL PRACTICAL

INTEGRATION

APPLIED COMPETENCE THEORY PRACTICE REFLECTION

STEP 5: APPROXIMATE MARKS Q4 30 Q1 40 Q2 40 Q

STEP 6: BRAINSTORM TYPE OF QUESTIONS Factual recall? Data response? Evaluation? Open-ended? Problem-solving? Creative? Etc?

STEP 7: COGNITIVE LEVELS BLOOMS TAXONOMY BLOOMS REVISED TAXONOMY CREATING EVALUATING ANALYSING APPLYING UNDERSTANDING REMEMBERING

STEP 8: LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY LOW = 30% ? MEDIUM = 40% ? HIGH= 30% ? WEIGHTING

STEP 9: REFLECT: BROAD TOPICS &TOPICS BROAD TOPICS

CRITICAL & CREATIVE THINKING

THINKING Critical thinking: Judge the merits of something Creative thinking: Make or devise something new

CRITICALLY EVALUATE INFORMATION

PROBLEM SOLVING Inclusion of real-life problems

RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP Inclusion of moral / ethical dilemmas

COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY

The provocative question Any learner can find this accessible

Real-life scenarios?

STEP 10: CATER FOR THE TEACHING & LEARNING PROCESS Rate of change Years Lifelong learning

LINEAR LEARNING RULE – learning is for kids Learning Launching Working, Doing & Caring Retired CHILDHOOD ADULTHOOD ELDERHOOD

HUDSON’S CYCLICAL MODEL OF RENEWAL : Lifelong learning Phase 1 GETTING READY Phase 2 DOLDRUMS Phase 3 COCOONING Phase 4 GO FOR IT

NEW LEARNING RULES Lifelong renewal CHILDHOOD ADULTHOOD ELDERHOOD

STEP 11: SCAFFOLDING QUESTIONS EASY / APPETISER = 30% - 40% MODERATE / MAIN BODY = 30% - 50% CHALLENGING / PINNACLE = 20% - 30%

Is K a barrier to S, V & A? KNOWLEDGE SKILLS VALUES ATTITUDES

ACCESSIBILITY & RELEVANCE Do not use ‘knowledge’ as a barrier Are cognitive levels indicative of degrees of difficulty? Incorporate real-life situations / problems Ask the provocative question

DO NOT FOCUS ON INSIGNIFICANT CONTENT

STEP 12: SET QUESTION PAPER & MEMORANDUM SIMULTANEOUSLY Traditional memo or rubrics? Must be accurate Must cater for alternative answers

STEP 13: TIME ALLOCATIONS To be tested by each panel member Instructions to be specific

STEP 14: COVER PAGE NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE INSTRUCTIONS: ….. …. QUESTION MARKS TIME 1 2 3

STEP 14: MODERATION, REFLECTION & QUALITY CONTROL

USER-FRIENDLY Left / Right pages – minimise turning over Clean-cut format Suggested time allocations? Answer book corresponds to question paper? Sequencing of questions Consistent format to each question & across all papers

LANGUAGE Keep language simple Reduce unnecessary verbiage Use subject-specific and commonly-used words Be specific – do not expect candidates to read between the lines Reading test by selected panel members English / Afrikaans combination papers?? Check translation carefully

TECHNICAL MATTERS Totaling of marks – unsettling if wrong Computer skills of the examining panel Copyright Clarity of diagrams Optional questions clearly indicated

CREDIBILITY The paper must stand up to scrutiny and criticism Must not set at the lowest perceived level Topical and relevant to the learners of today Positively influence teaching & learning