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Introducing
the School-Based Assessment
Marjorie
Henry, Contributor
At
the end of the many weeks of the summer
vacation in which, quite likely, you
would have had some periods of rest
and fun, I do hope that you are ready
for the start of the new school year.
For
those of you who are now in grade
11 (form five), I trust that it was
not all just fun and frolic, but that
you took time to review and reinforce
work already done, particularly in
grade 10 (form four) and maybe in
grade nine (form three). Why was that
necessary? Several responses immediately
come to mind:
a)
At the end of this academic year,
you will sit your external examinations,
that is, the Caribbean Secondary Education
Certificate (CSEC).
b)
The syllabus to be completed for the
examinations started or continued
at grade 10.
c)
Spending time to review work already
done during the last school year would
certainly help you to be well on your
way in preparing for your external
examinations. These are about eight
months away. Not too much time, you
will agree.
Syllabus
May
I encourage you, at the outset, to
purchase for yourselves copies of
the syllabus for all the subjects
you intend to sit in the external
examinations. These are available
at the Caribbean Examination Council's
(CXC's) office, located at Arnold
Road, Kingston 5. It goes without
saying that these provide you with
the complete requirements for each
subject you intend to do in the examinations.
Go through them in detail in order
to be well informed on what is expected
of you.
Use
the syllabus as your checklist to
know what has been done already, and
also to prepare yourselves, through
reading and research, for the upcoming
topics.
One
major requirement for several subjects,
including geography, at the CSEC level,
is that of a School-Based Assessment
(SBA). I would like to focus on this
for a while.
The
SBA for geography is a field study
report. It is allotted 40 marks or
20 per cent of your final grade. In
essence, you are writing a part of
your final work outside of the examination
room. Aim at realising maximum marks.
Any
topic chosen for this field study
must be related to the CSEC syllabus.
It is advisable that you choose a
topic in which you are interested
and also one which is manageable at
your level. You are allowed to work
on your own or with a group.
Individual
report
If
the group approach is used, this is
just for the collection of data, as
each member must submit an individual
report. Individuals may work on the
same or different aspects of the topic
chosen. Prepare a worksheet which
will help with the proper organisation
of the group and direct members in
carrying out their assigned task.
Naturally, the group must meet as
often as possible to share the information
obtained.
There
is a limit to the length of the field
study; it should not be more than
1,500 words. It can either be handwritten,
if you write legibly, or it can be
typed. It would appear that many of
you are not aware of the latter.
Your
syllabus has the full guidelines for
the SBA. These speak to the content
of the report and how it should be
presented. Go through the guidelines
carefully. It goes without saying
that you should adhere to the instructions
given. You will be penalised if you
do otherwise.
In
the upcoming lessons, I will look
at specific areas of the field study.
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These
Anchovy High School students
are serious about preparing
for the Caribbean Secondary
Education Certificate examination.
- photo by Sheena Gayle
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Marjorie
Henry is an independent contributor.
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