Scetion 5. Assessment

Student achievement in CSPE is assessed and certificated as part of the Junior Certificate examination. It is a Common Level course.

There are two assessment components:

1. Submission of either
   • a) a Report on an Action Project (RAP) or
   • b) a Course-Work Assessment Book (CWAB)
     
2. A terminal examination paper.

Marks are allocated as follows:
120 marks for the RAP or CWAB, i.e. 60% of the total marks.
80 marks for the examination paper, i.e. 40% of the total marks.

Assessment of Action Projects

Action Projects are central to CSPE, but for the purposes of assessment, students are not required to submit the actual Action Project. Instead each student is asked to submit either

• a detailed account of one Action Project she/he has undertaken. This is done by completing a proforma* Report on an Action Project (RAP)
  or
• a less detailed description of one Action Project, in the context of a module of course-work, she/he has undertaken. This is done by completing a proforma Course-Work Assessment Book (CWAB).

*A proforma booklet is a standard booklet provided each year by the State Examinations Commission (SEC).

5.1 THE REPORT ON AN ACTION PROJECT (RAP)

Students may submit their RAP in any one of the following formats:

• Written Report - The student writes her/his report into a proforma RAP booklet issued by the State Examinations Commission.
• Audio Report (4 minutes maximum) - The student speaks her/his report onto a previously non-recorded audio cassette tape, using the headings from the proforma RAP booklet.
• Video Report (4 minutes maximum) - The student speaks her/his report to camera, recorded onto a previously non-recorded VHS video cassette tape, using the headings from the proforma RAP booklet.

Schools are issued annually with proforma RAP booklets by the State Examinations Commission (SEC). Each booklet consists of five Sections and accounts for 120 marks (60%). Under the current regulations this report must take one of the above formats. However, it is advisable to check with the SEC regarding any future changes to this regulation.

It is very important to draw students' attention to two key messages on the front cover of the current RAP.

1. The first key message is outlined in the box which states 'Candidates must not include any additional material or insertions in their report'. Students may have been involved in the writing up/typing of letters to organisations/speakers; others may have formulated a questionnaire while others may have designed campaign posters. These are all important aspects of an Action Project but they must not be included in the RAP. The RAP is literally a report on the Action Project. Students must not include any extra pages.
2. The second key message is printed in bold text above the grid to be completed by Examiners. It states 'Each candidate must write the Report in his/her own words'. While students in a class may have been involved in doing the same Action Project they are required to write up their own account in their own words. Some aspects may be similar, but should not be identical.

Student Action Project requirements

It is very important to ensure that each Action Project meets the requirements. These requirements are printed clearly inside the back cover of the proforma RAP for teacher and student.

• The Action Project should be clearly based on one or more of the seven course concepts.
• The Action Project should be consistent with the human rights and social responsibility perspective of CSPE.
• The Action Project should have an action component. Pure research, on its own, downloading information from the Internet, copying information from a book and sticking it in a scrap book or wall chart, is not an Action Project.
• The Action Project should enable the students to engage/communicate with other people or communities about the subject of their action.
• The Action Project should enable the student to practice the skills associated with Civic, Social and Political Education.
• The Action Project should enable the student to develop her/his knowledge and understanding of the subject of the action.
• The Action Project should include a reflection and evaluation dimension.

Completing the RAP

As this is a very different mode of assessment, students need guidance and practice in report writing. The following suggestions may be useful:

• Provide opportunities for students to practice writing sections of the RAP. The official proforma booklet may be photocopied for this purpose.
• Over the three years of the Junior Certificate, students should undertake two Action Projects, thus ensuring they have two to choose from when it comes to reporting.
• Only one of the Action Projects must be reported on for the examination.
• Students are not required to fill in every line of every page.

The following pages will explore the layout of the RAP through actual examples and by means of a commentary. Please note that for each section of the RAP a different Action Project has been chosen (the title of each Action Project is underlined).

(Students must know what concepts they were studying. They must tick at least one box. There must be a clear link between the concept ticked and the Action Project)

Explain how your Action Project was based on this/these concepts.

Litter is one way in which young people cause damage to the environment. We were learning about
minding the environment (the concept of stewardship) and we wanted to find out the extent of the
litter problem in our school.

(b) Give ONE reason why you chose to do this Action Project.

After the lunch break every day the school yard is full of litter. We wanted to find out what students in the school think about litter and to find out about ways that might help to sort out the litter problem.
(A clearly stated reason is required here. Why did the students do this particular Action Project?

(Engagement with people is an essential part of an Action Project. Students must tick at least ONE box.)

Explain why these people were communicated with and why they were involved in the Action Project.

We contacted Oxfam and Fair Trade Mark - two fair trade organisations to get information on Fair Trade. They sent us campaign cards, samples, posters and information.
We also contacted first year students in the school as the Fair Trade awareness day was organised for them.
(It is important to explain how the people ticked were involved in the Action Project)

(b) Write a list and brief description of the main tasks/activities undertaken as part of the Action Project.

Action Project: Organising a visit to Limerick Prison

To do our Action Project we talked about the jobs that we needed to do.

We then divided up into different groups.

• The Co-ordinating Committee: This committee made a list of students' names and pulled them out of a hat to make up the different groups. They also organised the class into two big groups for our visit to Limerick Prison as they could not take us in one big group.
• The Contact Committee: They organised the visit of a guest speaker and the dates our class would visit the prison, by making contact with the prison by telephone and fax machine.
• The Finance Committee: They organised the bus to and from the prison. The price also included the cost of the refreshments for the prison officer on his visit.
• The Questions Committee: With the help of all students in our class they put together a list of questions to ask the prison officers on our arrival at Limerick Prison. They then typed up the final set of questions.
• The Research Committee: They searched the Internet for information on Limerick Prison. They also found out about the Courts Service and the Irish legal system. They shared this information with the rest of the class.
• The Publicity Committee: They got permission from the Principal for our trip to go ahead. They also made posters which they hung up around the school to make all the students aware of our Action Project.
• The Thank-You Committee: They wrote a "Thank You" card to the people we met in Limerick Prison, to thank them for allowing us to visit the prison and for providing us with two excellent guides.

(There are TWO parts to be answered here - A list and a brief description
Students may find the committee system useful for tackling an Action Project.
For the list each student may provide the same heading/title for each Committee (group/team).
The brief description should include a number of sentences which clearly explain what each Committee (group/team) actually did in each student's own words. These pages are about what 'we' did.)

(Remember: It is not necessary to fill in every line of this section.)

(c) Give a detailed account of ONE particular task/activity from the list in Section (b)
that YOU undertook as part of the Action Project.

Action Project: Raising awareness about the dangers of landmines

It was my job to produce posters that would advertise our awareness day.
I decided that the best way to do this would be to produce some colourful posters. I asked the Art teacher for some art supplies and then I got to work. First I decided on the words I needed to put on the posters. This included the date and time of the awareness day. Then I worked on the graphics. I used some very dramatic colours, mainly black and red, because I thought this would capture attention. I had gathered some pictures of landmines so I copied them onto the posters.
When I was finished I found some good places to hang the posters where they could be easily noticed.

(d) Describe how YOU applied at least TWO SKILLS when undertaking the activity described in part (c) above.

Action Project: Raising awareness about the dangers of landmines

I used the following TWO skills in undertaking my particular task (making posters):

1. Creative skills: I had to design the landmines posters that I was making and choose what colours I would use. I decided to use brightly coloured paper (yellow, lime green, pink and pale blue) and poster paints as these would catch peoples' attention. I thought A2 size paper would be the best size for advertising the awareness day.
2. Decision-making skills: I had to decide on the slogans I would use. I wanted to use the most catchy ones to attract attention. I also had to decide on the shape of the posters. I decided to use irregular shapes as I thought these would attract interest. Then I decided on the best locations around the school for displaying the posters. As the campaign was aimed at first year students I decided that it was best if the posters were hung along the first year corridors so that they would find out about landmines on their way to and from class.

(It is important to describe ONE task/activity/job in detail here. If a student is a member of a committee and the committee does a number of associated jobs it is okay for the student to describe
these associated tasks. If a student has been involved in a number of very different tasks then she/he should select ONE and describe it in detail. This page is about what 'I' did.)

SECTION 4. SUMMARY OF INFORMATION

Give FIVE pieces of information or facts that you found out about the subject of the Action Project.

Action Project: Organising a mock General Election

Here are five important pieces of information I found out:

1. In Ireland we have a democracy. This means we have a government for the people by the people. It is led by the President.
2. Our government is called the Oireachtas. It is made up of two houses - the Dáil and the Senate.
3. At the moment there are six main political parties in Ireland: Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, The Labour Party, The Progressive Democrats, The Green Party and Sinn Féin.
4. The system of voting used in Ireland is called 'Proportional Representation' or " PR" for short.
5. There were forty two constituencies in Ireland for the 2002 General Election, one more than in 1997, because of changes in the constituency boundaries based on the 1996 Census results.

(This is a Summary of information about the subject of the Action Project. Students should provide FIVE clearly developed facts here. Students should not confuse Summary and Reflections. They should not express any opinions here.)

SECTION 5. REFLECTIONS

Think back on the different experiences you had while doing your Action Project.
Give your OWN thoughts on these experiences and state the reasons why YOU think this way.

Action Project: Celebrating Europe Day

I had no idea there was such a thing as Europe Day. I think it is a great idea to have a special day set aside for people to think about what it means to be a member of the European Union. The reason why I think this way is because a lot of Irish people do not really consider themselves European and don't seem to be too bothered about Europe. Just look at how bad we are at speaking European languages! We're a disgrace compared to many of our European neighbours.
I really enjoyed organising the European lunch with the Home Economics class because it added a great flavour to our awareness display on the EU countries. I discovered that we are really influenced by Europe in terms of food and drink: pizza from Italy, baguettes from France, wine from Germany and Spain.
I was thrilled to get the chance with four of my friends to put together a display about Pat Cox, MEP, President of the European Parliament. We got on really well together and helped each other out and we were very pleased with our display. I think the reason why our display was so good was because of the teamwork.

(In this Section students should explain their Thoughts, Opinions, Feelings, Suggestions and Recommendations. Reflections can be about what a student learnt (subject), how s/he did the Action
Project (process) or about the skills used. Students should give three Reflections. Students must give a Reason for each reflection given. It is important to use the word 'I' in this Section.)

5.2 THE COURSE-WORK ASSESSMENT BOOK (CWAB)

The CWAB is a proforma booklet issued by the State Examinations Commission. The CWAB is a booklet in which a student keeps a record of a module of work, including a report on her/his Action Project. Completing an Action Project is compulsory. The account of the Action Project included in the CWAB must be specific to the module of work

Note: A module of work is 12-15 weeks of course-work including an Action Project. The entire module must be based on one of the seven concepts in CSPE. It may be the exploration of a concept, a unit of work or a theme.

Module Example: Human Rights

Presented here is an example of a CSPE module of work focusing on the concept of Rights and responsibilities. This module of work consists of twelve classes. The last five classes are assigned to the Action Project which is also based on rights and responsibilities.

The CWAB is divided into five sections.
Below is a step-by-step guide to completing each section. Actual examples of different modules of work are given in order to explore each section of the CWAB.

In Sections 1 and 2 the Concept: Rights and Responsibilities is explored.
In Section 3 the Unit: The State - Ireland is explored
In Section 4 the Concept: Law is explored
In Section 5 the Theme: Racism is explored

Section 1. Title: Human Rights

(Title should clearly state what the Course-Work module was about)
(A clear overview of the module should be given. Here the student should describe at least five different aspects (things you did). The student may refer to the Action Project undertaken.)

Section 2.What my course-work module was about:

• We brought in daily newspapers to our class and cut out pictures showing the abuse of Human Rights.
• We found out about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• We made posters and wrote slogans to highlight our human rights.
• We watched a 15-minute video about the work of Amnesty International and had a discussion on it.
• We read a story on bullying, written by a student in our school.
• We held an awareness-raising day on Human Rights. On the day we also sold friendship bracelets for Amnesty International.

Section 3. Things I have done

An account of three classes I found particularly interesting from this course-work module:
For this Section of the Course-Work Assessment Book the module chosen is The State - Ireland

(Remember the student must write about three distinct classes. Each Topic, Description, Learning, Interesting opinion must be different. The student must not repeat any information here. The classes should not describe the work of the Action Project.)

3.1 An Account of ONE CLASS I found particularly interesting from this course-work module:

(The description must include reference to the activity/module used. The student must relate the activity/methodology to the topic.)

(a) The main TOPIC of this class was:

Identifying different politicians from newspaper cuttings and photographs.

(b) This is a short DESCRIPTION of what took place during this class:

We put up a selection of photographs on the class noticeboard.
We examined these photographs and we picked out those politicians we knew. Our teacher told us who the others were. Then we grouped them together according to their political parties.

(c) ONE important thing I LEARNED from this class is:

(The student should clearly explain ONE important thing he/she learned from this class)

There are seven main political parties in Ireland - Fianna Fáil; Fine Gael; the Labour Party; the Green Party; Sinn Féin; the Socialist Party and the Progressive Democrats.

(d)What made this class particularly INTERESTING for me was:

I liked looking at the selection of photographs. I was delighted that I was able to recognise four of the leaders of the main parties. I was raging that I could only identify one of the local politicians. We had great fun in doing this exercise.

(The student should give his or her own opinion/reflection)

Remember pages four and five of the CWAB follow the same format.
Each student should practice filling in these pages - it will make it easier for him or her to complete the CWAB for examination.

An account of two more classes on different aspects of the State-Ireland should then be included.
The accounts of these classes should not refer to the Action Project

Section 4. Things I have done

An account of my Action Project for this course-work
module.

Note:
Compulsory Section: It is compulsory for the student to complete this section of the CWAB.
Failure to complete these two pages will result in a penalty being imposed.
Remember the Action Project described here must be relevant to the module of work.
The student cannot use the same material here as used in any of the accounts of class-work in pages three, four or five.

For this section of the CWAB the module chosen is The Law in Our Lives and the Action Project undertaken is A visit to the local Court House.

4.1 The TITLE of the Action Project I/we did as part of this course-work module was:

Organising a visit to the local Court House

(Remember the title should have the Action and Subject of the action clearly stated in it)

4.2 ONE reason I/we did this particular Action Project was:

We wanted to see a court in action. We wanted to find out what a Court House looked like inside and who the key people involved were.

4.3 ONE ACTIVITY I/WE took part in during this Action Project was:

I was a member of the questions group. We asked everyone in the class to come up with a question. We grouped these and we then picked ten questions to ask Mr. Brown, the Court Clerk. I used Microsoft Word on the school computer to type up the ten questions and then printed them off for everyone in the class.

4.4 TWO things I have learned from doing this Action Project are:

(The student needs to give TWO different pieces of information. These should be clearly explained. The student must not use any material here that she/he has used in any other part of the CWAB)

(a) I learned that the Court Clerk prepares the list of cases for each week that the court is sitting.

(b) I learned that there is no jury in the district court.

4.5 (a) ONE skill I used while doing this Action Project:

Word Processing

(The student should name the skill explicitly)

4.5 (b) A description of how I used this skill in my Action Project:

(The student should explain step by step how she/he used the skill.)

I opened the Microsoft Word package on the computer. I opened a new file. I selected the Times Roman font. I set the point size at 12. I typed in my ten questions. I highlighted the text and used double spacing between each question. I checked the spelling using the spell checker. I then numbered each question, checked the size of the margin. I then saved the questions and clicked on the print button.

Section 5. Something I have to say having completed this course-work module.

For this section of the CWAB the module chosen is Racism.

5.1 One issue I feel strongly about or found interesting from this course-work module is discrimination against refugees and asylum seekers.

(This issue can arise from any part of the module, including the action project)
(It is important that the student explains why he/she is intereted in this issue.)

5.2 I feel strongly about this issue because I heard about a refugee, Mr. Luyindula, from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was the first Congolese refugee to arrive in Ireland. His experience in Ireland has not been a happy one. He was beaten up in Temple Bar in broad daylight. No passers-by stopped to help him. He has lost count the number of times that people have told him to go back to Africa.

5.3 What I CAN DO ABOUT IT or WHAT I THINK CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT:

(The student should state what s/he can do about this)

I can raise awareness about the rights of others in my school and amongst my family and friends. I can invite in a refugee/asylum seeker to tell his/her story to the other students in my school. I think the Know Racism Campaign needs to continue over a much longer period. The government needs to spend more money on the Know Racism Campaign.

(The student should clearly state ONE issue. This issue can arise from any part of the module, including the Action Project.)

Important points to remember

• In the Course-Work Assessment Book the student will report on ONE course-work module which she/he has completed.
• The course-work module must include a Report on an Action Project within the module.
• It is important that the student reports on 3 distinct classes. Repetition will not score. Each topic, each description, each learning and each interesting opinion must be different.
• On pages six and seven the student reports on his/her Action Project. This section is compulsory.

(Tip: Page three of CWAB: can be filled in after each class; may be used to record each class; helps students to develop the skill of report writing

• Each student must write up his/her own Course-Work Assessment Book in his/her own words.
• The CWAB report must have an account of the Action Project undertaken as part of the module.

5.3 THE CSPE EXAMINATION PAPER

The remaining 80 marks (40%) are awarded for the completion of the CSPE examination paper, which takes place as part of the Junior Certificate Examination in June. It is normal for the CSPE examination paper to focus mainly (but not exclusively) on contemporary issues. When answering questions on the paper the student is expected to answer from the human rights and social responsibilities perspective of CSPE.
The CSPE examination paper consists of three distinct sections

Section 1: Objective questions (18 marks)

This section consists of short-answer questions and students must attempt ALL questions here. Questions may take the following format:

• True/false questions
• Matching pairs questions
• Multiple choice questions
• Tick box questions
• Identify the photographs questions
• Fill in the blanks questions

Example: This question appeared in Section 1 of the 2004 Examination Paper.
Trócaire
Amnesty International
The Simon Community
Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC)

Each of the descriptions given below describes the work of ONE of the organisations listed above.
Beside each description write the name of the organisation you think it describes.
You may write ONE name only beside each description.

Example: This question appeared in Section 1of the 2003 Examination Paper.
Write a sentence to explain EACH of these CSPE course concepts:

Stewardship:

Law:

Interdependance:

Human Dignity:

Development:

Structured questions (42 marks)

This section consists of FOUR questions and students must attempt THREE questions here. Questions in this section begin with some kind of stimulus, for example:

• A photograph
• A cartoon
• An advertisement
• A table of statistics
• A leaflet/brochure
• A web page
• A written passage.

Students are asked some direct questions about the stimulus, the answers to which are included in the stimulus. Then students are asked a number of other questions about the issue(s) raised in the stimulus. These questions focus on students' understanding of the seven course concepts.

Example: This question appeared in Section 2 of the 2002 Examination Paper

Interdependence
The following information on trainers (running shoes) is adapted from the Trócaire CSPE web site. Study the information carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Trainers (running shoes)
Made up of dozens of different man-made materials, my trainers were assembled in a Korean owned factory in Indonesia. The leather for the upper came from Texan cows whose hides were sent for tanning in South Korea, where wages are not high. Tanning is the process in which the hides are turned into leather and can involve very strong chemicals.
The Indonesian woman who made my €64 shoes earned €2 a day and worked in temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius.
Tiger Woods, the golfer, is sponsored by trainer manufacturer Nike. They pay him nearly €38 million a year to wear their emblem on his cap and jumper.
The price of a trainer is divided up between the main groups involved in its production and distribution in the following way:

(a) Of the groups involved in the production and distribution of trainers, which one of these is getting:

the highest percentage take .............................................................................. (2 marks)
the lowest percentage take............................................................................ (2 marks)

(b) Why do you think Nike are prepared to pay Tiger Woods nearly €38 million a year to wear its emblem on his cap and jumper? (2 marks)

(c) The production of trainers is an example of global interdependence.
Using information ONLY from the passage, explain what this means. (4 marks)

(d) Nike is an example of a multinational company. What does this mean?
A multinational company is .............................................................
................................................................................................(2 marks)

(e) Give an example of TWO different multinational industries working in Ireland, and give an example of what each produces.
Examples of multinational industries in Ireland.
Example 1. ........................................................................................
This industry produces ........................................................................
......................................................................................................(2 marks)

Example 2. ........................................................................................
This industry produces ...........................................................................
............................................................................................................ (2 marks)

(f) Multinational companies can be both good and bad for the development of a country.
Describe ONE way in which these companies can be good for, and, ONE way that they can be bad for, the development of a country.
One way that multinationals are good for the development of a country is:
...................................................................................................
................................................................................................... (2 marks)

One way that multinationals are bad for the development of a country is: ...................................................................................................
................................................................................................... (2 marks)

Section 3: Open-ended questions (20 marks)

This section consists of FOUR questions and students must attempt ONE question here. Each question has a number of subparts based on a given scenario. The scenario focuses on some issue/topic on which students are required to take action. The focus here is on the student's understanding of organising Action Projects (the skills needed and the tasks involved). In each sub-part an indication is normally given as to how many pieces of information/points a student needs to include in his/her answer.

Example: This question appeared in Section 3 of the 2003 Examination Paper.
Special Olympics 2003 World Summer Games
Your town has been selected as one of the host towns for the Special Olympics 2003 World Summer Games. You have been chosen as a youth representative on the local organising committee.
(a) Name THREE local organisations, other than your school, that you, as the youth representative, would contact to help the committee organise events for the visiting athletes. In the case of ONE of these organisations explain how it would be of particular help. (6 marks)

(b) Write a short article for your school magazine explaining the Special Olympics 2003 World Summer Games, and how your town has been selected as a host town. In your answer you should mention at least THREE different points about the Special Olympics World Summer Games. (6 marks)

(c) Describe TWO ways in which your school could become actively involved in helping to host the visiting athletes. (8 marks)

Example: This question appeared in Section 3 of the 2002 Examination Paper.
Voting
You have discovered from a recent survey that many of the senior students in your school, who are eligible to vote, do not intend to vote in the next general election.
(a) Write a short speech that your CSPE class will give to the senior students at a lunchtime meeting outlining at least THREE reasons why they should vote in the general election.

(b) Draw a sketch of a poster that you would design to encourage them to attend this meeting. You should include an appropriate slogan in your sketch as well as an outline drawing or graphic.

(c)
(i) Suggest TWO reasons why some young people are not interested in voting.

(ii) Suggest ONE way that they could be encouraged to vote.

Example: This question appeared in Section 3 of the 2001 Examination Paper.
Community Development
Imagine that a busy railway line passes through your area, but there is no station. You are a member of a newly formed campaign group set up to get a railway station for your community.
(a) Write a speech (to a community meeting) OR a letter (to your local TD) giving at least THREE reasons why you think a station would be of benefit to your community.

(b) Describe THREE different actions that could be included in the campaign to get a local railway station for your community.

(c) Draw an outline of a poster that would encourage local people to become involved in the campaign. Include a slogan on the poster.

5.4 PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE EXAMINATION PAPER

The following strategies are useful in familiarising students with what is happening in contemporary society around them:

• 'Politics Gallery'
  Students can bring in photographs from newspapers and magazines of some of the key politicians (President, Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Ministers, EU politicians, etc.) and put them up on the noticeboard.
• News stories from TV news, radio news and newspapers
  Students should be provided with opportunities to look at, listen to and read about news stories.
• Clear understanding of possible actions
  Students should be familiar with the many possible actions which can be taken in order to progress an issue. It would be useful for students to familiarise themselves with a list of actions, for example:
  • poster campaign
  • public meeting
  • protest march
  • write a letter
  • lobby Councillor/TD/MEP/Minister
  • sign a petition
  • write to a newspaper
  • fundraise
  • invite in a guest speaker
  • carry out a survey