do exams limit learning? students and teachers perspectives of a-levels may 2009 jo-anne baird...
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Do exams limit learning?Students’ and teachers’ perspectives of A-levels
May 2009
Jo-Anne Baird
Suzanne Chamberlain, Anthony Daly, Michelle Meadows, Lucy Royal-Dawson, Rachel Taylor, Katherine Tremain
The stretch and challenge policy
Education and Skills White Paper (DfES, 2005)
Problem: A-levels seen as too easy for the most ableLimited challenge, formulaic responses, HE selection
Solution: develop broader skills and knowledgeIntroduction of AEA material at A2, use of different question types (more extended
writing, application of knowledge, synthesis of study, fewer opportunities for formulaic responses)
Do you think that the English A-level examinations are too easy?
Are exams ever motivating?
EPPI review Harlen & Deakin-Crick (2003) Only formative assessment is motivating Black et al
(2003)Negative impact upon motivation and identity –
“I’ll be a nothing” Reay and Wiliam (1999)
Students put off by demanding questions Wolf et al. (1995)
Tests with consequences motivate students Sundre et al (2004)
Students more motivated by multiple choice than by essays Sundra and Kitsanstas (2004)
Do you think that exams can ever be motivating?
Student’s views
Semi-structured interviews, approx one hour• Experiences of preparing for and taking GCE• Perceptions of examination standards (challenge,
difficulty/easiness)• Perceptions of new-style question papers
(students matched to actual 2008 paper and corresponding specimen paper for 2010 from AQA, Edexcel or OCR)
Student sample
Students who completed psychology or biology A levels in June 2008, gaining a grade A with any awarding body (high achievers)
Currently first year under-graduates at Universities of Manchester and Bristol
Uni of Bristol
Uni of Manchester Total
Biology 8 10 18
Psychology 5 16 21
Total 13 26 39
Themes emerging from the interviews
Theme 1: Examination preparation
Theme 2: Motivation and stress
Theme 3: Engagement and challenge
Theme 4: Perceptions of new question papers
Examination preparation
• Highly emotive, dominated their lives for considerable periods of time
• Predictability of content of question papers – extensive use of past papers, model answers, marking schemes
‘‘Everything was very formulaic which was quite annoying because we just spent all year sort of learning how to answer the questions more than anything else. No one really wanted to take any risks in their exam results.’
Psychology student ‘I literally learnt the mark scheme. I was like, well there’s no point in trying to go into the
details of why this [biological process] works. I knew exactly what wording they
wanted.’ Biology student
Motivation and stress
• Hard work, motivation and stress• External sources of motivation – get into university, please their
parents & teachers
‘When you look back it seems like a lot of worry for nothing when you get your grades, but, when you don’t, I can’t even imagine what it would feel like because I know how stressed out I was beforehand. I was really anxious, and all I wanted was to [study at the University of Manchester]. If I hadn’t have got in [to the University of Manchester] I would have been so upset.’ Biology student
‘I think everyone just wanted to get grades to meet their offers really. I don’t think many people were particularly interested in sort of achieving for achievements’ sake by that point, because we were all a bit tired.’ Psychology student
Engagement and challenge• Every student told us that exams were challenging and were not getting
easier
• Explanations for rising pass rates– Qualifications arms race (Wolf, 2002)– Teachers and students more informed and experienced about the examinations
‘I thought [my exams] were hard enough and we all struggled. No one just sailed through. So I think they are challenging and they’re not getting easier. I think people are just getting better at teaching them and helping people to get the right answers.’ Psychology student
‘Because more people can understand the techniques needed to take an exam and more people are passing, everyone’s complaining. But why are they complaining when everyone’s getting good marks? It seems quite a silly thing to do. Why would you want to make it so that less people can
understand and get a good mark?’ Biology student
Focus groups with teachers
• Comprehensive sixth form college, Hampshire• 11 participants: Accounting, biology, business studies, chemistry,
Curriculum head, D&T, geography, ICT, mathematics, PE
• Sixth form college, Manchester• 8 participants: Applied science, biology, chemistry, computing,
geography, ICT, PE, physics
• Independent school, Manchester• 5 participants: Biology, chemistry (x2), D&T, geography, physics
• Independent school, Bristol• 3 participants: ICT, PE, physics
Stimulus materials
• Materials shown to teachers• Stretch & Challenge initiative• Sample question papers from AQA, Edexcel & OCR
• Prompt questions used by researchers• Do you think that second year A level students need to be
stretched more?– Prompt: Are A levels currently too easy?
• What do you think students will have to do differently?• What do you think you will have to do differently to help them? • What (if any) support from awarding bodies would be helpful?
Themes emerging from focus groups
Volume versus depth of study
Demands
Pedagogy
Assessment design Costs
(3)
(48)
(54)
(44)
Teacher support (26)Formulaic pedagogy (13)Adapt pedagogy (9)Adapt pedagogy 9
Need stretch (31)C2K stretched (12)
C2K hard (8)New too hard (3)
Questions (30)Discrimination (7)
Modular (4)Extended project (3)
Demands of A-levels
• Current A-levels already stretching
• Students hard-working and anxious about exams
• No reward for displaying skills beyond those expected
“I think in my subject area I’d go a step further than that and I think that A-level actively discriminates against the most able students. I don’t think the most able students are necessarily the people who get the highest grades. I think there’s too much recall …we have significant amounts where they need to be able to regurgitate definitions, erm, which are fairly insignificant really…”
Chemistry
Pedagogy
• Examination preparation an important part of teachers’ responsibilities
• Teaching to the test, explaining marking schemes and stem words to students
• With new A-levels, teachers needed to know what examiners would be looking for in the new marking schemes, to prepare students appropriately
• The place for stretching students was within pedagogy, not in the examination
“It’s about, ultimately, tuning it up, delivering stretch and challenge in the classroom, not in the examination. I think it’s too late then.”
Physics
Conclusions
Students and teachers agreed:
• Current A-levels– Very demanding– Foster an instrumental, strategic approach
• Stretch and challenge policy generally viewed positively
On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one
Sfard (1998)
What kind of learning is needed?
‘I believe that a blinkered conceptualisation of curriculum, the strong trend towards fine-grained prescription, atomised assessment, the accumulation of little ‘credits’ like grains of sand, and intensive coaching towards short-term objectives, are a long call from the production of truly integrated knowledge and skill.’
Sadler (2007, p392)
Do exams limit learning?