Since January 31st OCR have been failing to meet their own deadlines. Friday, some three months late, OCR National were reaccredited on the NQF. Speficially the ICT qualification ‘will be available from August 2010, and the revised units are available now.’
What has changed within the units? We have been promised ‘essentially the same content’ but with ‘extra clarity and explicitness’ in the assessment criteria.
How many units are required? Previously students complete 1.5 per GCSE. Now its 2.5. This is the result of unit glh being slashed by 30% and expectations being raised from 90glh to 100glh. Like many subject leaders this immediately changes the OCR landscape.
Which unit combinations are available? This is not fully answered but a rather complicated outline of Mandatory units, Option B, C, new Short Course equivalents and so on is. My guess, it will be the usual Unit 1 plus 1 unit from Section B and a half units from Section C. We have to wait until June 15th and the update Handbook for that.
As an aside, why is exam boards work in 40glh blocks when the school taught year is essentially 30 weeks long?
What does that mean for the rock face practitioners? 1 GCSE equivalent OCR Nationals (AWARD) now require significantly more work (66%), even if that work is still pitched at ‘OCR Nationals’ level. Respectfully, students can achieve a passing grade through a ‘do-as-I-do’ approach to teaching without ‘learning’ too much for themselves. For subject teachers, that means sifting through the revised specifications, noting and responding to the changes. I have reviewed Units 1, 4, 7 (our previoulsy 2 GCSE course) and would suggest that this process is manageable.
The review process now broadens out to include all GCSE qualifications and the best fit for your school. Do the NEW GCSE specifications offer your students more value now that the OCR Nationals have been scaled back significantly? Would you offer a NEW GCSE plus Functional Skills? Would you offer OCR Nationals plus Functional Skills? Can your students complete 5 OCR units within their KS4 provision? I know that our students were stretched too far when they attempted to complete 2 units per academic year, but did manage 1.5 units.
Without question, with students achieving 2 GCSEs (for appropriately 65% of students) and forecasting improving pass rates for the final two years of OCR Nationals, a reduced weighting for ICT pass rates from 2013 will not be welcomed news by the Senior Leadership Team. Time to think outside the box? Can 2.5 units be delivered in Yrs 9 and 10 with Digital Communications in Yr 11?
I agree with wot ur saying Kristian re lukin around but I still dont see anything as engagin as wot I can do with the Nationals and I dont want my kids to have to sit theory exams