1. In-Service Teacher Training
Assessment in AS Level English Language 8693
Session 3: Mark schemes, Examiner Reports and other resources.

2. Welcome Introductions Background Aim of training
1. It is important that you introduce yourself and outline your experience. The delegates should then introduce themselves and outline their experience. (It is often a good idea to get the delegates to write this information down as it is unlikely you will remember it - unless you already know the delegates, in which case you may wish to skip this slide.)
2. Explain the background to the training, such as:
who requested it;
where the training is from (a pack acquired from CIE for self
delivery, adapted for your own needs);
why the delegates are taking part.
3. Explain that the aim of the training is to give teachers a greater understanding of the assessment process so that they will feel that they are in a better position to prepare their students for the examination. By improving teachers’ understanding of the process they will be able to guide and prepare students, thus helping to ensure that candidate performance is maximised.

3. Session 3 looks at: Resources Mark schemes as a resource
Principal Examiners’ Reports
Additional resources
Session 3 explores some of the resources available to support the teaching of AS Level English Language.

4. Using mark schemes as a resource
• Give the allocation of marks
• Indicate the range of acceptable answers
• Give examples of unacceptable answers
• Give an indication of what Examiners are looking for in an answer
Remind delegates that the mark schemes for past papers are available on the CIE teacher support site –
Explain that mark schemes are brief summaries of what the examining team consider to be acceptable. They are developed through considerable discussion between the Principal Examiner and his/her team.
If similar questions are asked in future years, the mark schemes for them will also be similar.The range of acceptable and unacceptable answers should also be studied, since these often recur year after year.
Mark schemes also give information about how the examiners interpret the syllabus.
You may choose here to look more closely at the mark scheme for one of the sample papers provided.

5. Principal Examiner’s Report (PER)
After each examination session the PE will:
Writes a full and detailed report for each component
Comments on strengths and weaknesses of the candidates
Aims to provide advice to help teachers improve their own teaching and their students’ performance
Principal Examiners’ Reports (PERs) can be read as reflections on the recent exam session, but perhaps more usefully, as guidance for the upcoming exam session.
The Reports are essentially summaries of how the Principal Examiner felt the whole process went - a chance to see how each of the questions and whole papers were received and responded to by candidates.
These Reports are based on detailed reports sent in by every Assistant Examiner or Moderator. All aspects of the examination are, therefore, considered.
From an Examiner’s point of view, the PER contains essential information for teachers and candidates.
Remind delegates that the Examiner Reports for past papers are available at

6. Some areas covered in Principal Examiners’ Reports
Completion of the examinations
Very detailed comments on specific questions
Acceptable and unacceptable answers
The rubric - how well was it followed?
The Principal Examiner’s Reports for 2002 and 2003 need to be available.
Remind delegates that the Principal Examiners’ Reports provide information such as:
how well candidates coped with the time allowed for each paper;
the comments on every question may give useful insight into setters’ expectations of candidates’ answers - particularly as the question setters tend to be Principal Examiners.
comments on the various styles of responses offered by candidates.

7. Mark schemes and Principal Examiners’ Reports:
Both give information about each part of each question
Should be used side by side to analyse students’ answers to questions
Provide information which can be passed on to students
If time, show delegates an Examiner’s Report for a question paper they have in front of them.
To use the Principal Examiner Report as a resource, look at the Examiner Report in conjunction with the question paper and mark scheme.
Teachers may find it useful to download these documents from the CIE Teacher Support website and look at them side by side. Reasons for the rejection of some answers are often given in the Examiner Reports and common misconceptions are commented on, such as: were there any misinterpretations of the rubric? Did most candidates know how to complete the paper; answer the questions; deal with the different parts of the papers? It is often useful to make a note of these and try to integrate these points into teaching plans.
Additionally, although the range of unacceptable answers for specific questions is commented on in the mark scheme, the Examiner Reports may give information about which of these incorrect answers are most frequent.

8. Using the Principal Examiner’s Report
Activity 3.1
The Principal Examiner Reports for 2002 and 2003 will need to be available.
Activity 3.1: ask delegates to read the Reports and briefly discuss how they might be put to use in the delivery of the course. It may be useful for them to issue key insights to candidates in some form. They could be used in conjunction with exemplar scripts; candidates could be asked to consider how, in the light of such examiner comments, exemplar scripts could be improved.

9. Other resources Books/texts
CD-ROMs of past papers and mark schemes (‘Tool Kit’)
Online training
Internet
CIE Teacher Support Site
Briefly discuss with delegates other resources available to them in their teaching.
Reference should be made to the CIE reading list at the back of the syllabus (and especially the Cambridge University Press guide to teaching the CIE AS Level English Language).
Remind delegates that access to the CIE Teacher Support site allows them to:
download AS Level English Language Schemes of Work;
download question papers and mark schemes;
download the current and future syllabuses;
download Principal Examiners’ Reports;
access a number of other useful resources;
engage with a subject specific FAQ area;
look at some sample online tests for IGCSE E2L.
Encourage delegates to share details of resources that they have found particularly helpful in their own teaching, such as specific websites, books or CD-ROMs.

10. Closing comments Closing comments
Discuss with delegates that they should now be familiar with the syllabus and have started to consider how they will use this knowledge to enhance their teaching and assessment methods. Emphasise that teaching methods should develop the skills as outlined by the assessment objectives. For example, teaching methods should develop the skills of application, and formative assessment methods should assess the extent to which this skill has been developed.