Assessment Guidelines

Assessment is an integral part of the process of teaching and learning. As such, it is a process that takes place in the classroom as well as in the more pressurised precincts of the examination hall. Assessment, therefore, can serve a number of different purposes. It can provide feedback to students as to the steps they need to take to improve their learning. It can help teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of different teaching strategies. It can be used as an indicator of student achievement in fulfilling the objectives of a syllabus. However, it must be emphasised that that these purposes are not necessarily compatible. Assessment for certification purposes may provide useful information on student performance; it may be less successful in helping students to improve their future learning.

This section looks at the two types of assessment that are fundamental to teaching and learning viz. assessment for learning and assessment of learning. The purpose of each of the two types of assessment may be summarised as follows:

• assessment for learning ­ to improve student learning
• assessment of learning ­ to grade student performance

Assessment for learning should be an integral part of the learning process for students following a course based on this syllabus. Both teachers and students can derive significant benefits from the use of assessment for learning strategies in day-to-day classroom work. Students learn to monitor their own progress because they receive regular feedback on their work. Ultimately, they learn how to learn and develop good learning habits for the future. While much work remains to be done on assessment for learning strategies at this level, many of the exercises outlined in the section on teaching strategies can be used to evaluate and support students' learning. Teachers who wish to keep abreast of developments in this area may wish to consult the NCCA's assessment for learning website at www.afl.ncca.ie.

The rest of this section addresses some of the issues relating to the formal assessment of learning that leads to certification at the end of the students' course of study. Since the requirements of the research study report are covered in detail elsewhere in these Guidelines, this section will concentrate on the requirements of the terminal examination.

The overall allocation and weighting of marks are as follows:

OVERALL ALLOCATION OF MARKS

Research study report 20%
Terminal examination 80%

MARKS WEIGHTING FOR RESEARCH STUDY REPORT

Outline plan 3%
Evaluation of sources 5%
Extended essay 12%

MARKS WEIGHTING FOR TERMINAL EXAMINATION (BOTH LEVELS)

Documents-based question 20%
Each one of three general questions 20% each

THE TERMINAL EXAMINATION ­ ORDINARY AND HIGHER LEVEL

• Candidates answer four questions in the examination. The questions are of equal marks value.
• One of the four questions is a documents-based question. The documents used will relate to one of the three case studies for the nominated topic. The format of the documents-based question is set out below.
• The format of the general questions at Ordinary level is set out on page 60.
• The format of the general questions at Higher level is set out on page 61.

THE DOCUMENTS - BASED QUESTION AT ORDINARY AND HIGHER LEVEL

• Documents chosen are to relate to one of the listed case studies. These case studies will have been taught making extensive use of documents. Candidates will be familiar with the subject matter of the case studies and will have developed their evidence-handling skills in the analysis of documents related to the case studies.
• Documents may be either visual or written. In this context, `written' is defined as including transcripts of radio and T.V. interviews and oral testimony. Some documents may have visual and written elements, e.g. a political cartoon.
• The supposed reading level of the particular examination cohort will be taken into account in the selection of documents. Documents will be edited and/or glossed, where deemed necessary.
• The documents-based question has four sections as follows:

Section 1 Comprehension

Candidates will be required to extract relevant data from documents to answer questions that are designed to test their understanding of a passage or their interpretation of a visual source.

Section 2 Comparison

Candidates will be required to compare two or more accounts of the same historical experience and to note similarities and contrasts.

Section 3 Criticism

Candidates will be required to recognise bias and propaganda; to note viewpoint; to identify contradictions; and to make judgements about the reliability of various sources.

Section 4 Contextualisation

Candidates will be required to place the subject matter of the documents in their historical context and to show understanding of issues and events associated with that period as outlined in the elements of the topic.

Marks weighting

The overall allocation of marks to this question will be 25% of the total marks in the terminal examination. There will be a higher weighting for the Comprehension section at Ordinary level and a higher weighting for the Contextualisation section at Higher level. The proposed weighting is as follows:

AN EXAMPLE OF A DOCUMENTS-BASED QUESTION FOR EACH OF THE TWO LEVELS FOLLOWS.

DOCUMENTS - BASED QUESTION

HIGHER LEVEL

Topic: LMI, Topic 2 ­ Movements for political and social reform, 1870-1914
Case study to which documents relate: Dublin 1913 - Strike and lockout

Study the following documents carefully and answer the questions that follow. Both documents refer to the events of `Bloody Sunday', 31st August, 1913.

A
I was in O'Connell Street one evening when Jim Larkin...appeared on the balcony of the hotel,wearing a beard as a disguise. He spoke amidst cheers and hoots for the employers. Policeswept down from many quarters, hemmed in the crowd, and used their heavy batons on anyonewho came in their way. I saw women knocked down and kicked - I scurried up a side street; atthe other end the police struck people as they lay injured on the ground, struck them again andagain...I was in favour of the strikers.
Ernie O'Malley - On Another Man's Wound (1936)

B
Violent scenes were associated in an attempt made by a crowd, about 5.30 p.m., to force themotormen of six trams to give up their driving handles in Camden Street. The conductors werealso asked to leave their cars. Both the drivers and conductors refused to comply with thedemand of the crowd, who then flung stones and missiles at the cars......There were only a fewpolicemen on the scene at the time, and they were vigorously stoned by the crowd.Reinforcements soon arrived...and at least six baton charges were delivered on the crowdbefore they were finally dispersed.
Freeman's Journal, Monday, 1st September, 1913

1.
(a) According to document A, how did the crowd react to Larkin's speech from the hotel balcony?
(b) In document A, why do you think Ernie O'Malley `scurried up a side street'?
(c) In document B, what demand was made by the crowd in Camden Street and how did they react when their demand was refused?

2.
(a) Which document, A or B, is most sympathetic to the actions of the policemen? Explain your answer.
(b) Which document, A or B, do you consider the less biased account? Explain your answer.

3.
(a) Document A was first published in 1936. What factors should be taken into account in our evaluation of its reliability?
(b) What are the advantages and limitations of a contemporary newspaper account as in document B?

4. To what extent was there interaction between the labour movement and other movements for political and social reform in the decades prior to 1913?

DOCUMENTS - BASED QUESTION

ORDINARY LECEL

Topic: LMI, Topic 2 ­ Movements for political and social reform
Case study to which documents relate: Dublin 1913 - Strike and lockout

Study the following documents carefully and answer the questions that follow. Both documents refer to the events of `Bloody Sunday', 31st August, 1913.

A
I was in O'Connell Street one evening when Jim Larkin...appeared on the balcony of the hotel,wearing a beard as a disguise. He spoke amidst cheers and hoots for the employers. Policeswept down from many quarters, hemmed in the crowd, and used their heavy batons on anyonewho came in their way. I saw women knocked down and kicked - I scurried up a side street; atthe other end the police struck people as they lay injured on the ground, struck them again andagain...I was in favour of the strikers.
Ernie O'Malley - On Another Man's Wound (1936)

B
... an attempt [was] made by a crowd, about 5.30 p.m., to force the motormen of six trams togive up their driving handles in Camden Street. The conductors were also asked to leave theircars. Both the drivers and conductors refused to comply with the demand of the crowd, whothen flung stones and missiles at the cars......There were only a few policemen on the scene atthe time, and they were ...stoned by the crowd. Reinforcements soon arrived...and at least sixbaton charges were delivered on the crowd before they were finally dispersed.
Freeman's Journal, Monday, 1st September, 1913

5.
(a) In document A, did the crowd like Larkin's speech from the hotel balcony? Explain your answer
(b) In document A, why do you think Ernie O'Malley `scurried up a side street'?
(c) In document B, what did the crowd in Camden Street try to force the motormen and conductors to do?
(d) In document B, how did the crowd react when their demand was refused?
(e) In document B, what is meant by `baton charges'?

6.
(a) Does either document show sympathy for the police? Explain your answer.
(b) Would you say that either document is a biased account? Explain your answer.

7. Document A was published in 1936, twenty-three years after 1913. Document B was published in a newspaper the day after the events described. Does that mean that document B is more reliable than document A? Explain your answer.

8. What were the social and economic factors that caused increasing tensions between employers and workers in the years leading up to 1913?

THE GENERAL QUESTIONS AT ORDINARY LEVEL

• One multi-part question will be set on each topic. Each question will be stimulus-driven. The stimulus may be a picture, a map, a prose or verse extract or some other stimulus chosen or designed to facilitate candidate recognition of the topic. Questions on the stimulus will mostly test comprehension and/or identification and are intended as a reasonably gentle lead-in to more testing examination of the learning outcomes.
• The other parts of the questions will have an element of choice.
• Answers requiring most detail will relate to key personalities and the case studies.

The following is an example of a general question atOrdinary level

Topic: EME, Topic 1 - Europe from Renaissance to Reformation, 1492-1567

Study the accompanying picture and answer thequestions that follow:

A. Luther burns the Pope's Bull [1520], Woodcut 1557

(i) Which one of the people labelled A, B and C is Luther? Give a reason for your answer.

(ii) Explain what is meant by `the Pope's Bull'.

(iii) In what European country did this event take place?

(iv) Did Luther and the Pope reconcile their differences? Explain your answer.

B. Write a paragraph on ONE of the following for 30marks:

(i) The impact of the new technology of printing

(ii) Charles V's military campaigns against the Turks

(iii) The problem of inflation in Spain and other parts of Europe in the first half of the sixteenth century

(iv) Work carried out by Michelangelo Buonarroti for Pope Julius II, 1503-1513

C. Answer ONE of the following questions for 40marks:

(i) What was the role of Hernan Cortes in creating a Spanish empire overseas in the early sixteenth century?

(ii) How did the divorce between Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon lead to changes in the power of the king?

(iii) Why was the banker Jacob Fugger an important person in Europe between 1510 and 1525?

(iv) What changes ­ religious, cultural and social - took place in Geneva when it came under the control of John Calvin from 1541?

THE GENERAL QUESTIONS AT HIGHER LEVEL

• A specified number of questions will be asked on each of the topics. (A figure of no less than three is envisaged.)
• In the case of each topic, at least two of the three perspectives will be examined each year.
• Insofar as is practicable, and in line with the focus on enquiry in the syllabus, the questions will be framed as questions (i.e. the mode of questioning will be interrogative) and the use of instructions such as `discuss' or `evaluate' will be avoided.

The following are some examples of generalquestions at Higher level

Topic: EMI, Topic 5 Colony vs. Kingdom ­ Tensions in mid-18th century Ireland, 1715-1770

1. What was the impact on Irish political affairs of the Wood's Halfpence controversy, 1722-1725?
2. How did the enclosures of the period 17151770 affect economic activity and social stability?
3. What role was played by Courts of Poetry in keeping alive native modes of expression during the period 1715-1770?

Topic: EME, Topic 2 Religion and power: politics in the later 16th century, 1567-1609

1. Account for the recurrence of discontent in the Spanish Netherlands in the years between 1567 and 1609.
2. To what extent was the great inflation of the later 16th century the result of the importation of large amounts of silver from Spanish America?
3. Why was Calvinism perceived to be a greater threat to Christendom in Europe than other forms of Protestant dissent?

Topic: LMI, Topic 1 Ireland and the Union, 1815-1870

1. What factors contributed to the success of O'Connell's campaign for Catholic Emancipation?
2. Assess the impact of the Famine on society in rural Ireland between 1845 and 1870.
3. Can the term `renewal' be applied to the Catholic Church during the period 1829 to 1870?

Topic: LME, Topic 4 Division and realignment in Europe, 1945-1992

1. With reference to two or more countries, how successful was the `Sovietisation' of Eastern Europe between 1945 and 1990?
2. How did the movement towards European unity develop between 1945 and 1957?
3. How successful was the Second Vatican Council in responding to changing patterns of religious observance in Europe?