TIM BRADY: Hello.
My name is Tim Brady.
I'm the subject advisor for the Computer Science 2020 spec
here at Pearson.
And I just wanted to catch up with you
to go over some of the issues that you may be starting
to think about now for summer 2022 in relation
to our new Computer Science specification.
So this 2020 spec for Computer Science GCSE
is something that we're really proud of.
It's been put together with great care and attention
to detail.
We believe that it's architected in such a way
that you should be successful in delivery.
Your students should be successful in their learning,
and there should be no surprises in the assessment.
I just quickly want to just emphasise
the importance of the four documents
that you see on this slide here.
The Specification is clearly the starting point
whenever you're looking at the content of a qualification.
The Getting Started Guide is a hugely useful document
to sit and to study alongside the spec,
because for every section of the specification in the Getting
Started Guide is a section that relates to that spec item
number, and includes really, really useful guidance
and exemplification.
So the spec and the Getting Started Guide
together form a very strong document
in terms of helping you to know what you need to teach,
where you can stop teaching, and what is likely to be looked
at in terms of assessment.
The Programming Language Subset is a vital element
of the architecture of this qualification in that we've
chosen Python to be the vehicle for teaching our young people
about computer science.
And as such it was important to scope for teachers
and for students exactly how much of the Python language
needs to be looked at.
The PLS shows every construct that you
need in order to get every mark in every Paper 2
that we will write.
That's part of the no surprises commitment
that we're making to you.
When we were putting the qualification together,
we made a really, really strong effort
to emphasise that this is a Computer Science GCSE.
It's not a Python GCSE.
And while we were using Python as the vehicle
to put across the computer science concepts,
there was sometimes some healthy antagonism in the way
that it was coming together.
And because of that, we created the Good Programming Practise
Guide.
So while the PLS is a control document that
is part of the spec that will guarantee to you that no
more than the PLS need to be taught,
the Good Programming Practise Guide
puts into context some of the thinking behind this.
Take a very simple example, the concept
of constants, which in Python does not really
exist because Python as a language
is very adept at changing the types of variables
that are in the language.
But what we cover in the Good Programming Practise Guide
is that our thinking is that our young people deserve
to understand what the concept of a constant is,
and therefore we will be introducing it
in the computer science learning and assessment
and dealing with it by a simple syntactic convention that we
will use.
That's just one example.
There are others in the Good Programming Practise Guide.
I strongly recommend that all four of these documents
are looked at in detail so that you
have a complete and full understanding
of the way the qualification is put together.
So by way of catch up, this is the first year of assessment
for this new qualification.
So there are some elements that I
do want to talk to you about quickly now.
So Paper 1 is a standard assessment,
50% of the qualification in terms
of it being a question paper, exam hall type conditions.
Paper 2 is very different.
It's on-screen.
Paper 1, even though the exam conditions are normal,
say, we have sample assessments for Paper 1,
as well as specimen Paper 1's, Set 1 and Set 2.
So we have three sets of Practise papers
at the moment on the website.
The sample assessment material is not
permitted to be locked down, so it
doesn't have a silver padlock.
So Set 1 and Set 2 of the specimen papers
are very useful for you to be using
as mocks and semi-formal in-house assessments
and Practise papers.
We do have a specimen paper Set 3 ready to be published.
We just wanted to hold off so that we had something coming
into this academic year that was still padlocked and secure
and in terms of not having been released to to anyone yet.
In addition, for Paper 1, we have an exemplar exam material
for the specimen Set 1.
This is a really useful document, which is actually
looking at example answers for the paper
as well as the examiner's thinking in terms
of how the mark sheet is being applied as well as commentary.
For Paper 2, obviously, centres are
going to start looking at the logistics of this, which
is a new type of assessment.
So I'm going to talk about the ICE document in a minute.
But, in the same way, we have the SAM and specimen
Set 1 and 2 for Paper 2.
So we have three sets of Practise papers, two of which
are silver padlocked.
We have a specimen Set 3 ready to be published.
We also, for Paper 2, have exemplar work
for the SAM for Set 1 and Set 2 Paper 2's already
on the website.
And, again, this is examples of how students
may attempt the questions as well as showing
how the examiners would apply the mark
scheme, along with commentary.
We always try to mark positively.
So, as we always say, you don't need
to use just what's in the PLS.
It's fine if you use constructs outside of the PLS.
As long as they satisfy the requirements
of the question in the question paper,
students will get full benefit for that.
Now, the provisional timetables for summer 2022
are already on the website.
There's a link in this presentation, which will
go along with the little video.
Paper 1 is Tuesday, the 24th of May, morning, hour and a half.
Paper 2 is Monday, 6th of June, in the afternoon.
So in terms of Paper 2 and the issues surrounding it,
I think is quite interesting to have a good look at the ICE
document.
There's a link here, and we're going
to quickly zip through it.
What is likely to happen is that there will be
a review of this ICE document.
It's not normal at the launch or the accreditation
phase of a document to have an ICE already,
but we felt it was important, when showing the qualification
redesigned to the regulators, to have thought through many
of the logistical issues.
So you'll find that the ICE document as it is
is going to be very useful and a very reassuring read,
hopefully.
There will be some changes as we get
closer to the real assessment window, one of which
is that it looks like we're definitely
going to have the digital upload service ready
for the examination window in summer 2022,
so that your student's work will be
able to be uploaded digitally.
So there won't be any requirement
for memory sticks or CD-ROMS.
So there are 14 chapters of the ICE document,
and I'm going to quickly zip through them
I think it's worth it, because just
to give you an idea, a motivation maybe to look
through this document better.
So it starts off with key dates.
This, at the moment, is a template.
And as you can see, we haven't updated what the dates are yet
going to be.
But what's interesting is that 31st of March will be the time.
So end of March 2022, we'll be expecting
you to show us your schedule, the examination schedule form.
And we'll have a quick look at the end.
It's just for you to communicate to us at an early stage
if you think that you will have to do multiple sessions
or whether it can all be handled in one go.
We will release coding files for the assessment on the morning
of the day of the exam.
And we've got several different ways that these can be accessed
by the exams officer, and if the exams officer is not available,
a designated person in the centre.
More details will come through later on.
There's the examination date.
And the completed zip folders for all candidates
should be transmitted securely using the Digital Learner Work
Transfer system.
And we're assured that will all be in place.
And I think we'll put more details into this ICE
as soon as we have a chance to work more
closely with that team and see what
those detailed instructions might be.
And it does say in here, if the system is not available,
that it can be done via memory stick and posted to Pearson.
And then the results day in August 22.
We'll have a date for later on.
So in terms of general instructions,
we're talking that teaching of the subject and revision
sessions should be suspended on the day.
The start time, which will be morning,
does have some flexibility.
Candidates who take an examination later
than the published start time have
to remain under supervised conditions.
This is standard Practise for exam centres,
where there are things like clashes in exam timetables.
Where more than one examination session is being held,
centres must keep an accurate record of candidates
present at each session.
And that's what the schedule is all about.
Time allowed, it's a 2-hour exam.
No scheduled breaks, no extra time.
But we do, here in section 3.4, put
some words to account for what happens if there
are catastrophic events.
The format of the examination-- candidates
are going to be provided with a hard copy of the question
paper.
There will be a hard copy of the PLS, the Programming Language
Subset, as well as a digital version,
and then digital versions of the required coding snippet files.
So the examination is practical on-screen assessments,
which requires candidates to carry out programming
tasks using their familiar IDE.
In terms of security, it was vital
as we moved away from an NEA type of project work
that we could convince and satisfy
the regulators that security would be sufficient.
So here we talk about the fact that nobody
should look at the secure coding files before the session.
Centres should not examine these.
Centre staff should check that the correct ones
are in the right place.
And Centre staff should contact Pearson
and if there are any issues with the question paper,
the Programming Language Subset, or the secure coding files.
In terms of the general administration
of the examination, normal processes
are to be followed, as laid out in the JCQ ICE instructions
for conducting exams on a computer.
So we do say in 6.2, must not have access to the internet,
must not have access to USB memory sticks.
There must be sufficient storage space on the student's work
machine so that they can save files.
And then standard provisos here about not printing out
secure coding files, et cetera.
In section 7, now we talk about before the exam.
And this is a really useful place
to share with exams officers, your IT people in your Centre,
as well as the teacher so that you know what
needs to be done in advance.
And the things that are in this section 7,
like setting up the candidates' secure profiles.
And checking that the IDE has been properly installed
is definitely something worth practicing,
and definitely can be done well in advance of the live session.
We talk about how, on the day of the session,
the secure code files are going to be released in the morning.
And there's some anxiety about this being little time.
The fact is the size of these code files
make them a very tiny digital asset
that needs to be sent around.
And we've put together three or four different routes
by which they can be sent if there
is a problem with the standard access, which would be download
by the exams officer.
So do have a look through these.
If it raises any questions or issues for you,
just get in touch.
And then we talk about after the examination,
where the students basically would
log off, stand up, and leave.
And then somebody, an IT person, teacher, or exams officer--
it would be probably decided by your Centre--
would be then responsible for zipping up or archiving
the work that the students have done, making copies of it,
keeping maybe memory sticks with copies on it.
Certainly, archiving the candidates' user areas
might be a sensible precaution, at least
until after all the results and such have completed.
So that might be good.
Section 10 talks about special requirements,
and we do try to make sure that all of these are available.
But in certain circumstances I strongly recommend
you make contact with us early to make sure
that all of the accessibility actions are put in place.
Contingency measures-- we talk about what
happens if there's a crash on a particular computer or, worst
case scenario, a power cut, and how you can suspend the session
and restart after things have been solved.
Malpractice text there is pretty standard.
And contact us-- there's the link to the Contact Us page.
And you can always email me at teachingICT@pearson.com
or TeachingComputer Science@pearson.com.
Here's the examination schedule.
So we're capturing your Centre number and name,
Centre address, and country, the year group, start time,
number of candidates, room.
And then if there are multiple sessions,
they would be using up these lines here.
And then you return this along with your job title
and signature.
It's really a convenient way of having
an early conversation in case of complications
around the delivery.
Nothing more than that.
And that's all I wanted to catch up with for you today.
I hope you find it useful, and I hope you're looking forward
to Paper 2 particularly.
I know we are.
And I wish all of you the very best.
Let's hope for a smooth transition
into the assessment this year.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.