Changes to Assessments

Functional Skills Changes

English Reading

Source materials will have more resemblance to what candidates see in their daily activities. At level 2 there will be at least three texts to read.

Answers will require more explanations rather than ‘lists’. There will be a greater variety in terms of coverage so that it will be more important to teach skills rather than ‘teach to the test’.

English Writing

There will be less guidance and structure, requiring candidates to provide more extended responses. There will be an emphasis on candidates working in normal ways, so a clarification that grammar and spellcheckers are allowed.

At level 2, candidates with weak SPaG will not necessarily be able to pass purely on the content marks.

Maths

The format of assessments will remain unchanged with three assessments covering number; measures, shape and space; and handling data. There will be reduced guidance within tasks, less scaffolding of questions. There will also be an addition of specific planning and reviewing steps for cdates to demonstrate the effectiveness of their working.

Task 1 (number) will have the most significant changes with a planning step at the start, reduction in guidance throughout and a review at the end of the task. Tasks 2 and 3 will have a similar structure to existing assessments but with reduced guidance.