Assessment of principal learning and the project

This section reflects the requirements in the regulatory criteria on assessment in The statutory regulation of external qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2004.

The GCSE, GCE, principal learning and project code of practice (to be published in April 2010) makes more detailed requirements that underpin the operating rules on the assessment of principal learning and project. Principal learning and project component awarding bodies must comply with the code of practice, in conjunction with the operating rules.

Principles of assessment

Principal learning and project component awarding bodies

The operating rules outline assessment requirements for principal learning and the project in conjunction with the GCSE, GCE, principal learning and project code of practice April 2010, and the Criteria for accreditation of Foundation, Higher and Advanced Diploma qualifications version 2.
Assessment arrangements for qualifications that can contribute to additional and specialist learning are not specific to the Diploma.

1. Component awarding bodies must ensure that the assessment of principal learning and the project (at levels 1, 2 and 3) supports the following principles:

  • assessment enables results that provide a valid measure of the required knowledge, skills and understanding defined by the qualification specification
  • results generated provide a reliable measure of a learner’s performance
  • assessment generates results that meet the appropriate standards and provide comparability of standards between centres, awarding organisations and over time
  • assessment minimises bias and must:
    • provide opportunities for a diverse range of learners to demonstrate their abilities to meet the full range of requirements
    • be free from covert or overt discrimination
    • ensure that the content uses appropriate subject matter and language for the target group
  • to ensure manageability, the assessment system for principal learning and the project must:
    • use a level of resources within a centre/consortium that is consistent with the required quality of assessment
    • use the minimum number of awarding organisation examiners/assessors and moderators/verifiers required to support reliable and timely marking and reduce the scope for inconsistency.

Roles, responsibilities and resources

Principal learning and project component awarding bodies

2. Component awarding bodies must define roles and responsibilities for staff and define the separation of functions and points of accountability to ensure that assessment tasks, question papers and mark schemes are produced, tested and scrutinised effectively.

3. Component awarding bodies must have the necessary systems, procedures and resources in place to ensure that:

  • assessment tasks, question papers and mark schemes can be produced to the required level of quality
  • learner results can be generated and reported to the required level of accuracy
  • the necessary numbers of awarding organisation assessors/examiners and moderators/verifiers are available to ensure consistent standards
  • learner results can be managed effectively
  • contingency plans can be operated in the event of systems failures, including any breach of security of assessment tasks, question papers and mark schemes
  • where applicable to the language in which the assessment is provided, consistency is guaranteed across the languages of English, Welsh and Irish (Gaeilge).
Component awarding bodies should also refer to the Regulatory principles for e-assessment (QCA, DELLS, CCEA, SQA; 2007).

4. If providing e-assessment, component awarding bodies must make the necessary adjustments to systems, resources, training and guidance to accommodate that provision.

5. Component awarding bodies must ensure that they use assessors, examiners, moderators and verifiers who have suitable training and expertise.

6. Component awarding bodies must have performance management systems in place to monitor and evaluate assessors, examiners, moderators and verifiers.

Design and application of assessments

Principal learning and project component awarding bodies

7. Component awarding bodies must ensure that assessment tasks, question papers and mark schemes meet the learning outcomes and associated assessment criteria in the specification.

8. Component awarding bodies must require centres to have procedures to ensure that evidence provided by learners is relevant, can be authenticated and is sufficient to determine whether the learners meet the requirements of the qualification specifications.

9. Component awarding bodies must assess performance in each unit of principal learning and in the project against marking criteria in terms of marks.

10. Component awarding bodies must ensure that assessors’ or examiners’ marking does not enable the direct allocation of grades. Therefore, the marking criteria must not have a direct relationship with grading bands.

External assessment of principal learning

Principal learning component awarding bodies

11. Component awarding bodies must ensure that their assessors and examiners for external assessment do not assess work from a centre in which they have a personal interest.

12. Component awarding bodies must ensure standardisation of external assessment, followed by sampling, to enable a full review of the range of performances and responses.

13. Component awarding bodies must ensure that learners’ work and the associated marks are kept securely to allow for enquiries and appeals.

Internal assessment of principal learning and the project1

Principal learning and project component awarding bodies

14. Component awarding bodies must require centres to have effective and manageable administrative procedures and systems for internal assessment.2

15. Component awarding bodies must ensure centres have clear information on the parameters and the guidance necessary for the effective setting of assessment tasks, question papers and mark schemes.

16. Component awarding bodies must require that there are centre controls for internal assessment to take place under controlled conditions (including when the internal assessment takes place at a venue other than the centre) to:

  • enable the authentication of learners’ work
  • ensure reliable internal assessment.

17. Component awarding bodies must require centres to standardise internal assessment across different assessors and assessment sites.

18. Component awarding bodies must require centres to use moderation or verification to ensure that internal assessment meets defined standards.

19. Component awarding bodies must communicate clearly to centres the procedures for the moderation/verification of internal assessment.

20. Component awarding bodies must require sampling of internally assessed work that enables moderation/verification of a centre’s internal assessment.

21. Component awarding bodies must ensure that the assessment decisions of their moderators/verifiers are standardised.

22. Component awarding bodies must ensure there is a sufficient number of moderators/verifiers according to the number and distribution of centres and learners and the nature of assessment requirements.

23. Component awarding bodies must require that moderators/verifiers do not deal with work from a centre in which they have a personal interest.

24. Component awarding bodies must instruct centres to support learner choice in selecting topics for the project.

  1. QCDA supports good practice in quality assuring internal assessment on principal learning and project qualifications. For further information, refer to www.qcda.gov.uk - Delivering the Diploma – A guide to managing internal assessment. [↩]
  2. Also refer to Section 2, ‘Approval of centres for principal learning’ [↩]