Gcse Business Studies
GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES
CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT
Controlled Assessment was introduced by the regulatory authorities in a range of GCSE subjects in September 2009 with first certification in 2011. There are general notes for guidance on Controlled Assessment on the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) website. This set of notes is prepared for WJEC GCSE in Business Studies. These may be different to those for other subjects and will differ in the detail to other Awarding Bodies GCSE in Business Studies.
Controlled assessment has replaced coursework and was introduced to reduce the potential for plagiarism and to ensure greater consistency and parity between centres and subjects. In the case of WJEC GCSE in Business Studies coursework generally worked well, however, the regulators felt that the benefits of coursework could still be maintained in a more formal manner and hence the controlled assessment.
The controlled assessment task carries a weighting of 25%.
Controlled Assessment has three main elements, Task Setting, Task Taking and Task Marking. For each stage, the regulatory authorities have specified certain conditions under which the tasks are set, carried out and marked. These controls are designed to ensure assessment is valid, reliable and authenticated with a high degree of confidence.
This document will look at each of the three elements in turn and will use a Question and Answer approach. Controlled Assessment is referred to as the Controlled Task (CT) in these notes.
TASK SETTING
Who sets the Controlled Task (CT)?
WJEC – there are four to choose from and these are in the specification on pages 16-17 for those completing the course in 2011. In future the tasks will be posted on the GCSE Business Studies website.
How many CTs must a student do?
One
Who chooses the CT?
Teachers can choose the CT or they can let their students choose the task.
Can different students do different CTs?
Yes but the teacher will have to manage the process.
Will the set tasks change each year?
Yes. WJEC will issue a new set of tasks in June prior to new students commencing the course.
ADVICE
It is probably best that teachers choose the task or tasks for their students. What is of critical importance is that the controlled task chosen enables students to meet the assessment criteria. Can the students access sufficient information and good quality information for the CT? This requires careful thought and planning because it may determine when you teach certain topics.
TASK TAKING
This has two elements – (A) The Research and (B) The Analysis and Evaluation
(A) THE RESEARCH
When should I set my students the CT?
This CT can be set when you feel your students are ready to undertake it.
How long do the students have to do the research?
Once they have been fully briefed they have six weeks to undertake the research.
ADVICE
It is probably best to undertake the CT in year 11.
If students are doing the CT in year 11 when should they start it?
There is no set time but it would seem sensible to undertake this in the autumn term. You need to draw up a timeline so that you can arrange with your Examinations Officer when your students will do the analysis and evaluation task which must be done under high supervision.
If students do the CT do it in the autumn term what sort of timeline should I be looking at?
· Give students sufficient time to settle back into year 11.
· You will have decided which CT(s) you are going to ask your students to do and the third week back would seem to be a good time to introduce the task.
· You will need to spend time outlining the CT and it is vitally important that your students are fully briefed.
What information are you going to give them?
What information are they going to collect?
What are they going to be asked to do with it eventually?
· Once you have done this the 6 week period allocated for the research tasks should commence.
· When the research task is completed the analysis and evaluation task can be undertaken. Ideally there should be a short gap of say 5-10 days between completion of the research and the analysis and evaluation.
Can I give them written advice and guidance?
This is essential. You will need to fully brief them and provide the moderator with the written guidance given and record this on BS3. However, if too much advice and structure is given it may prevent better candidates from demonstrating the higher order skills.
Can I give them individual advice and guidance?
Yes but any additional guidance must be recorded on the BS3 form and this must be reflected in the assessment.
At one extreme there will be students who will need a lot of help, encouragement and cajoling whilst at the other end of the spectrum there will be those who will be able to carry out the task with little or no further encouragement and guidance.
Will I need to complete a BS3 for all candidates or just for those that will form the sample?
You will need to have a BS3 for all students because when the students commence the CT you will not know which candidates work will be part of the sample. However, the first section – List Guidance Notes/Resources will be common to all students. This form is especially important to record additional advice given to students and a very brief note will be sufficient in most instances.
Where do I get the BS3 form?
An example is in the specification on page 34. The form will be available on the website.
Is the research done in class or outside the classroom?
It will probably be a combination of both e.g. a questionnaire might be drawn up in class, information gathered outside the classroom and findings in the form of charts and graphs can be prepared in class. There is flexibility.
What happens if a student is absent during this period?
In most cases the absence will be short term and there will be sufficient time for them to undertake the necessary research. If they are absent for much or most of the time period it is permissible to put them on a different time line but you will then need to set aside a separate session for the analysis and evaluation.
Would you expect to find a range of marks for criteria 1?
The reason for this question is that the work submitted to the moderator will not provide evidence for criteria 1.
In the first assessment criteria we are not marking the quantity, quality or usefulness of the information students have gathered but their ability to plan and carry out the research task. From the submitted work it will not be clear if students have received a great deal of help or very little. This is where the teacher’s professionalism and use of the BS3 form will indicate to moderators how much help, advice and guidance has been given which is additional to that given to the whole class.
WJEC would expect to see the full range of marks especially where centres have mixed ability classes. It is possible for a student to score quite a high mark for independent research when they have gathered very little information but of course in such cases their ability to access the remaining 52 marks will be severely restricted.
(B) THE ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION
What can the students take with them into the examination room?
· Summary of research methods used and summary of main findings – a maximum of 200 words.
· Graphs/charts/photographs
· Maps/diagrams
· Original copy of questionnaire – if appropriate.
In practical terms students need to hand in to the teacher the file containing this material at least one week before writing up the controlled task. At this point it may be possible and/or desirable to see what information has been gathered and if necessary to prune some of the material. Only the information the students intend using in the write-up needs to be retained. (There is no need for multiple copies of questionnaires or copious handouts from banks.
The file containing material is given back to candidates on the day of the write-up.
Is there a generic template to help students structure the analysis and evaluation?
It is advised that the following structure is followed:
· Title
· Introduction
· Research methods used
· Analysis and evaluation of findings
· Conclusion
· Additional Structure – use of some of the 200 words to give further headings and structure to the analysis and evaluation section – use BS3 to indicate that this has been provided for all students. If too many heading are given this may prevent the able students from demonstrating fully their skills of analysis and evaluation.
· Students may themselves devise further headings.
Is there a word limit?
Yes the limit is 2000 words (+10%). There should be no need for students to exceed this limit. Many students will write less – as always it is the quality of what they have written rather that the quantity that is assessed.
Is there a time limit?
Yes there a maximum time of 3 hours.
Does it have to be done in one session?
No it could be spread over 2/3 sessions.
Can the students have a break if they are doing it in one session?
Yes – you may give them a break to coincide with the school’s normal timetable or you could split the time either side of the lunch break.
If the students do it in one session can I let them out before the 3 hours is up?
Yes if it is convenient to do so e.g. if student have finished after 2 hours they could be released so that they can return to their normal lessons. You would need to ensure that release time coincides with lesson time.
If I split the CT into two or three sessions what do I do with students’ material at the end of session one?
It must be collected, stored securely and redistributed at the start of the next session.
If I have a large number of students must they all do the task at the same time?
No. You must manage large numbers in the way that best suits your circumstances.
Must the work be produced using IT?
No.
Many students will be able to work more effectively and efficiently if they produce handwritten work.
Students can word process their work but they will not require access to any other computer applications. They are not permitted to have access to the internet, prior research work stored on the school server system (they should have already printed hard copies of research work) or portable storage devices.
If candidates are doing the CT in more than one session they should not have access to any ICT work on the school server between sessions. Work must be stored on a secure clean area.
What happens if a student is absent for the analysis and evaluation?
It is vital that students understand the importance of attending for the write-up of the CT. They must make every effort to attend.
If students are absent centres can offer students a second opportunity to attempt the CT. If they miss the second opportunity the centre will have to consider whether or not to award zero (e.g. if away on both occasions for unauthorised absences such as a holiday or truanting) or whether to apply for special consideration e.g. genuine illness on both occasions).
TASK MARKING
Who marks the work?
The work is marked by the teacher using the generic mark scheme on pages 21-22 of the specification. Please pay particular attention to the general guidelines on page 20 and the principle of ‘best fit’ as explained on pages 20-21.
Must there be cross moderation?
This is a requirement where more than one teacher is assessing the work. Where internal moderation is necessary the teacher assuming overall responsibility for this process should provide, for the external moderator, a written outline of the procedures that were adopted.
Must the work be annotated?
Yes. This should be done briefly in the body of the text by drawing attention to instances where students attain a certain level of performance in relation to the criteria. It is also possible to make summative comments on the BS2 form.
Must the work be authenticated?
Yes. This must be done by both the teacher and the students on the BS1 and BS2 forms.
What are the BS1 and BS2 forms?
BS1 is the form used to record the marks of all the students that form the sample of work which has to be sent to the moderator. It is only necessary to include the marks of the students that make up the sample on the BS1 form but it does help considerably, if scaling decisions have to be made, to have a full list of all the students’ marks. This can be done on a separate spreadsheet.
The BS2 form is the form that has to be completed for all students that forms the sample of work to be sent to the moderator.
Examples of these forms are in the specification on pages 31-33 and these forms will be posted on the website.
How many pieces of work should I send to the moderator?
Please refer to the Internal Assessment Manual (Website → Exam Officers → Show all documents). The formula determining the amount of work can sometimes change.