Connections - OCR assessor news and views Connections Welcome Welcome to the first edition of Connections. We see the launch of this newsletter as the start of a concerted effort to

OCR assessor news and views

Connections Welcome

Welcome to the first edition of Connections. We see the launch of this newsletter as the start of a concerted effort to build on existing strengths and make improvements in how we engage with you, our OCR assessor community. We hope that this newsletter will provide you with insights into the issues facing our industry, updates on ideas and initiatives at OCR as well as helpful hints

and tips about some of the specifics of your roles as assessors. And, by ‘assessors’, we mean all those who carry out assessment tasks on our behalf – whether these are examining, moderating, verifying or producing assessment materials. We appreciate that a newsletter will not provide the answer to everything but we hope there’s something here for all of you.

As I’ve said in previous communications, the assessor survey we carried out earlier this year has been a vital first step in establishing a new relationship with our assessors and so, in this edition, we focus on the results from the survey and our next steps – with a flavour of ‘you said ... we’ve listened, and this is what we intend to do about it’.

We also hope that you’ll contribute to the content in the future so, if you have any suggestions, please email us at [email protected]. We look forward to receiving your feedback.

In the meantime, we hope that you’ll find Connections informative and engaging. Once again, thank you for your efforts on behalf of OCR.

Mark DaweCEO

Issue 1 – May 2013

In this issue

Results from the OCR assessor survey

Assessor survey: Next steps

Improving the feedback we give you

Educational reform update

Workplace pensions

Developing and sharing expertise in assessment

CommunicationTraining

Support

Valued

Open

Direct

Com

mun

ity

Collaboration

Professional

Personal approach

Development

information

partnership

improvement

progressenrichment se

rvic

e

Communication

Pers

onal

app

roac

h

SupportOpen ValuedDevelopm

ent

Com

mun

ity

information

Training

Direct

serv

ice

Professional

enrichment

Co

llab

ora

tio

n

pro

gre

ss

partnership

ocr.org.uk2 Connections Issue 1 – May 2013

As part of the work we’ve been doing looking at the relationship with our assessors, we realised that the best way to find out what you think of working for OCR is simply to ask you directly. Therefore, we decided to launch a survey to find out what as many of you as possible think OCR is doing well and where we need to make improvements. So, having tested the questions with a pilot group, we sent out the survey to all those assessors (almost 14,000) who are currently working with us or who have done so in the last couple of years. We’re delighted that over 5,400 of you took the time to respond, in many cases writing detailed comments. Since then, we’ve been collating your responses and planning our next steps.

SummaryThe survey findings can be grouped into the themes below.

l Value – You want to be valued as an integral part of the assessment process; one size really doesn’t fit all.

l Communication – You want us to be clear, open and direct in our communication and also to value the contribution you make to assessment on our behalf. You also told us that you value face-to-face contact when involved in assessment activity.

l Training and support – Support from colleagues (other assessors) and individuals within the organisation are seen as OCR’s strengths; however, you told us that you’d like to be supported consistently.

l Rates of pay – This is consistently an area you would like us to address.

More detail surrounding these, together with what we’re going to do about them over the coming months, is provided within the question breakdown on this and the following pages.


Overall ...How likely would you be to recommend becoming an OCR assessor?Encouragingly, over 90% of respondents would be likely or very likely to recommend becoming an OCR assessor – even those who were not currently assessing for OCR. However, that doesn’t mean that we can rest upon our laurels, as you were keen to point out in subsequent questions.

Do you feel valued by OCR?Whilst over 80% of respondents felt valued by us, significantly, almost 20% said they didn’t. We’ve been looking closely at how you say we could improve this.

How do you rate your experience?Again, although over 90% of respondents said that the role either met or exceeded their expectations, there were many suggestions for improvements, which we’ve been examining in detail.

Very likely

Likely

Unlikely

Very unlikely

Yes

No

Exceeds expectations

Meets expectations

Below expectations





Workplace pensions


Marking hundreds of exam papers in our spare time is hard, skilled

work and should be reflected in the pay offered.

“”

What I would like to see less of is ‘One size fits all‘.“ ”

Cost is an issue but face to face meetings really set you up to

mark a paper.“

”ocr.org.uk3 Connections Issue 1 – May 2013

Assessor survey: The good and the bad

What does OCR do well?There was a wide range of answers for what OCR does well, with ‘support from colleagues’ coming top. We understand that a personal approach is very important – and something we need to work on.

Where could OCR make improvements?In terms of improvement, again, there was a wide range of answers with rates of pay top and training/communication second. Many of you have requested that we look at the fees that are paid for assessment tasks – we plan to do this over the next few months but this will, of necessity, be in the context of the pressures to invest in improvements and to control costs.

I cannot stress how supportive admin have

been to me. They are wonderful.

“” I have worked for several

examination boards throughout my career. I have found OCR to

be one of the best.

“”

I find the work fascinating and

challenging.“

”Actually I think OCR does

everything well. I have had no problems which haven’t

been sorted quickly.

“”

Access to task guidelines

Administration

Communication

Rates of pay

Speed of payment and expenses

Support from colleagues

Task guides/instructions

Training

Tools/software

0 650 1,200 1,800 2,400 3,000

Most 2nd area 3rd area important area

Access to task guidelines

Administration

Communication

Rates of pay

Speed of payment and expenses

Support from colleagues

Task guides/instructions

Training

Tools/software

0 650 1,200 1,800 2,400 3,000






Workplace pensions



Assessor survey: Making the most of your time

What causes the most pressure?Unsurprisingly, tightness of deadlines is shown as causing the most pressure. Non-retired assessors also cited conflicting priorities with the day job, whereas retired assessors feel more isolated than those who are working. We’re aware that, with the removal of the January series, some of the challenges around deadlines will be changing and we’re currently building this into our planning.

How satisfied are you with the availability of the following?A significant proportion of respondents would like support to be available at evenings and weekends. Since some system support is already available, we’ll look at promoting what’s available more widely and investigating this further.

Conflicting priorities with my day job

Feeling isolated/working on my own

Insufficient support from OCR at key times

Lack of feedback to make improvements

Lack of encouragement from my place of employment

Tightness of deadlines

Tools/software needed for the task

0 700 1,400 2,100 2,800 3,500


Admin teams

Customer Contact Centre

OCR Examiner Payments

Qualification Managers/Leaders

Systems Support

Team Leader/Supervisor

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000

Most queries I would like I would like can be dealt support at support during with during weekends evenings weekday working hours

Having done this for a number of years I feel well organised and supported but

initially did feel pressurised.“

”

I’ve actually been very impressed by the prompt communication once marking is underway both from

team leader/ any system support I needed, and the letters to all assessors on any issues. I’ve generally felt that OCR

does take care to ensure assessors have what they need to do a good job, and that they are happy with the work.

“

”I already receive very good support

from my team leader evenings and weekends.

“”

[I would like OCR to consider] Better response from technical support - greater evening and

weekend availability.“

”





Workplace pensions


It always seems a long time between the exam and availability of the mark scheme which I appreciate is probably

necessary but then deadlines often seem very rushed.

“”

The pressure comes from simply having to meet deadlines which is perfectly understandable!“ ”


Assessor survey: Communication

Rating the quality of our user guides and email messagesAnswers regarding user guides and emails were positive on the whole; however, there is room for improvement.

Rating the quality of communication with your team leaderFeedback on team leaders/supervisors was generally positive. A review of the comments indicates that this is an important relationship in the role of the assessor, so we will be focusing on this in our new team leader training package.

Relevance Always relevant Sometimes relevant Never relevant N/AUser guides provided by OCR 56% 43% 0% 1% Email messages from OCR 43% 56% 0% 1%

Clarity Generally very clear Generally clear Generally unclear Generally very unclear N/AUser guides provided by OCR 30% 65% 4% 0% 1% Email messages from OCR 38% 58% 3% 0% 1%

Format Generally easy to follow Generally fairly easy to follow Generally difficult to follow N/AUser guides provided by OCR 52% 42% 5% 1%Email messages from OCR 64% 32% 3% 1%

Tone Always appropriate Sometimes inappropriate Always inappropriate N/AUser guides provided by OCR 83% 14% 0% 3%Email messages from OCR 76% 21% 0% 3%

Relevance Always relevant Sometimes relevant Never relevant N/AMessages from your team leader/supervisor 89% 10% 0% 1% Response to queries 86% 13% 0% 1%

Feedback whilst carrying out assessment tasks 81% 17% 0% 2%

Clarity Generally very clear Generally clear Generally unclear Generally very unclear N/AMessages from your team leader/supervisor 68% 30% 1% 0% 1% Response to queries 63% 35% 1% 0% 1%

Feedback whilst carrying out assessment tasks 61% 35% 2% 0% 2%

Format Generally easy to follow Generally fairly easy to follow Generally difficult to follow N/A

Messages from your team leader/supervisor 82% 16% 1% 1%Response to queries 79% 18% 1% 2% Feedback whilst carrying out assessment tasks 76% 20% 2% 2%

Timeliness Generally at the right time Generally too early Generally a little later Generally a lot later N/AMessages from your team leader/supervisor 87% 1% 9% 1% 2% Response to queries 85% 1% 11% 1% 2%Feedback whilst carrying out assessment tasks 82% 1% 12% 2% 3%





Workplace pensions



Assessor survey: Communication and training methods

What type of training/standardisation do you prefer?30% of respondents preferred to have both remote and face-to-face training/standardisation, although over half said they always preferred face-to-face and didn’t have a problem with getting away.

Do you think that video conferencing/webinars could be useful?Over 30% of respondents thought that video conferencing could be useful and many provided suggestions ... Watch this space!

I find it difficult to get away. Ideally would like a combination of face-to-face training

and remote training but with the option that you are not precluded from examining if you

cannot make the face-to-face.

“”

Face to face standardisation is essential in subjects which rely on a high level of judgement.

“”

I don’t have a problem getting away and used to enjoy face to face standardisation meetings to interact with other teachers . I was sceptical about remote training when everything went

online but it was really well explained and easy to follow and use.

“

”

I think they are a good idea and would save time and money travelling. However, my experiences of using video conferencing with more than 2 other people has not been

positive. I do think it is worth a try but shouldn’t replace the valuable networking and confidence gained from

face-to-face training.

“”

I would love to do the training/standardisation using Skype.“ ”

See no reason why it could not be used for standardisation purposes

especially team conferencing.“

”

Useful for interim training and support, but not as a replacement

for face-to-face training - the interactions are important.

“”





Workplace pensions


I find it difficult to get away so prefer remote training/standardisation

I find it difficult to get away but consider some face-to-face training/standardisation important

I don’t have a problem with getting away but prefer a mix of face-to-face and remote training/standardisation

I don’t have a problem with getting away and always prefer to attend face-to-face training/standardisation

I don’t have a problem with getting away but prefer remote training/standardisation

Other

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%



Assessor programme boardAs you may have seen in the email from our CEO, Mark Dawe, following the assessor survey, we’ve set up a programme board to address the issues raised by you. The initial work of this programme falls into four strands:

l Communications, training and development – This includes looking at our internal and external communications together with a review of training and development approaches.

l Quality and consistency of marking and moderation, which are at the heart of our existence as an awarding body and as an assessment organisation.

l Improving our processes – How we can do the things we do more effectively, for example, providing better feedback (see page 8).

l Centre links – How we can build on the relationships we have with centres to support the availability of our assessors and improve our assessment processes.

Assessor advisory panelWith over 30 individual projects within these strands, we’ve certainly plenty to be getting on with. We’re also conscious that we cannot complete this work in isolation. One of the ways we’re looking to gather your input is by setting up an ‘assessor advisory panel’, which feeds into this programme of work. This will be a representative group of assessors from across the full range of tasks and qualifications. This group will be able to provide advice on the issues we’re looking at. We’ll also consult more widely as each individual project moves forward.





Workplace pensions


8 Connections Issue 1 – May 2013

Improving the feedback we give youOne of the themes from the assessor survey centred around the formal feedback we provide our assessors: it’s clear that many of you would welcome more specific and timely feedback on your assessment performance. We’re pleased to share some of the latest developments in this area.

We’ve recently reviewed our feedback process for a number of assessment tasks, including all assessment material production. From this review, we’ve created criteria that will allow us to provide you with more relevant and timely feedback. This feedback is designed to be constructive and enable your continuing professional development.

How will it work?You’ll receive a feedback report for each assessment task you carry out, which will provide details about how well you’ve completed it:

l General assessment material production tasks – Feedback will be provided shortly after you complete your task. These reports will be introduced for the 2015 assessment material.

l Vocational assessment material production tasks – Feedback will be provided either in summer or winter depending on when your task is completed. The reports will be piloted from June 2013 for certain qualifications.

l Marking tasks for series-based vocational qualifications – Feedback will be introduced from September 2013 and provided after each series.

l Marking, moderating and verifying tasks for on-demand vocational qualifications – Feedback will be introduced from September 2013 and then provided quarterly.

l Marking and moderating tasks for series-based general qualifications – Feedback will be provided at the end of every assessment series. These reports will be introduced for the June 2013 series.

What next?We’ll shortly be writing to those assessors involved in the above areas with details of the criteria. This will allow you to have the criteria before the tasks begin. Once the first reports have been sent, we’ll gather your feedback so that we can fully assess their fitness for purpose. We’ll then implement feedback reports for any remaining assessment tasks not covered above. We hope you find the introduction of these feedback reports a positive step and look forward to receiving your feedback.

ocr.org.uk





Workplace pensions


9 Connections Issue 1 – May 2013 ocr.org.uk





Workplace pensions


Educational reform updateAnother theme from the survey highlighted your wish to be kept up to date with educational reform and how this will impact on your role as an OCR assessor. The government’s educational reform agenda covers general as well as vocational qualifications.

The removal of January assessments for current A LevelsThe assessment of A Levels has changed following the decision by Ofqual last November to remove the January examination window from all current A Levels. This means that from September 2013, students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will only be able to sit AS and A2 Level exams in the summer as there will be only one examination series each year for both AS and A2 units. This will be in June.

This will affect those students who started their AS courses in September 2012, for whom there will be no opportunities for AS re-sits or A2 units in January 2014, and also those who begin A Level courses in September 2013.

Discussions about the next generation of linear A Levels, currently scheduled to be taught in schools and colleges from September 2015, are on-going. More information about this, and about changes to the assessment of current A Levels can be found on our website at www.ocr.org.uk

What the changes mean for question paper productionFollowing the introduction of linear GCSEs from September 2012, this means from next year, apart from for a handful of qualifications, there will be no January series. This brings some opportunities for us all as we no longer have to work to such a tight timetable for managing our question paper development process in the autumn.

We’ve nearly completed our review of the benefits this change will bring and, over the next few weeks we’ll be in touch with those involved with the development process.

We’ve also been working on a faster way of developing our question papers so that, instead of taking two years from beginning to end, it should be no more than half that time. This will be facilitated by a new online content creation and management system that is currently being developed. This will allow our assessors to create, edit and review assessment material securely – reducing the risk and delays that can be introduced by using the postal system. We’d like to discuss these developments with those involved in this process during workshops we plan to hold in the autumn of this year. More information about these will be available shortly.

What about examining and moderating?In terms of the implications of the removal of the January examination series for examining and moderating, we envisage that there will be an overall reduction of volumes in 2013 but that the volume of entries for 2014 will increase (with variations by subjects) leading to a higher demand for assessors in the June series. We’ll keep you informed about the implications of these developments as they unfold.

Vocational qualification reformReforms to the assessment of Level 3 vocational qualifications for 16- to 19-year-olds are also in the pipeline. The government wants new criteria for the inclusion of Level 3 vocational qualifications in performance tables and two separate categories of vocational qualification – applied general and occupational. One of the features the government has consulted on for the applied general category is external assessment, which would mirror changes to vocational qualifications in Key Stage 4. We’re currently considering the impact of the categorisation in relation to our Level 3 offer for 16 to 19 learners, including Cambridge Technicals.

Another proposal designed to complement vocational qualification reform is a new performance measure for 16- to 19-year-olds at Level 3, announced in April. The Technical Baccalaureate Measure (‘Tech Bacc’) will be introduced alongside reforms to 16 to 19 vocational qualifications, for school and college courses starting from September 2014. It will first be reported in the 2016 performance tables.


Responding to the challenge of workplace pensionsWhat we’re doing, and why

OCR is one of the three examining boards which make up the Cambridge Assessment Group. The Group’s financial services are organised centrally, so you may receive communications about workplace pensions from both OCR and Cambridge Assessment.

As a result of changes to government legislation, OCR’s examiners, moderators, verifiers and others who undertake assessment activities are now eligible for automatic enrolment into a workplace pension scheme – see www.gov.uk/workplacepensions for more information and joining criteria.

This new legislation has forced us to make significant changes to our payments system: for fees and expenses payments to be released, we now have to store your date of birth, National Insurance number and gender. We’ve also had to move to monthly rather than weekly payments to operate the pension scheme (although expenses will still be paid weekly). Implementation is proving much more challenging than we envisaged so we’re sorry for any frustration and delays you may have experienced during this transition period.

You will have received a request – and possibly more than one – from both OCR and Cambridge Assessment for you to provide us with your personal details. If you believe you have already supplied your details, and then receive subsequent requests, please do respond – we will only repeat the request if we don’t have one or more of the details required to enable us to make payments.

Although we must automatically enrol everyone who meets the criteria into the scheme, membership is not compulsory, so you can opt out if you choose. Our pensions provider, Now: Pensions (www.nowpensions.com), will contact you if you have qualified for automatic enrolment and explain how

you can opt out. They are also able to provide further advice.

We’ve worked with them to provide some answers to frequently asked questions, which can be found by clicking this link (www.ocr.org.uk/Images/138171-workplace-pensions-auto-enrolment-faqs.pdf)

Again, we recognise this has been a difficult experience for many of you and are grateful for your patience.





Workplace pensions



Developing and sharing expertise in assessmentOne theme emerging from our assessor survey centred on your professional development as assessors and how we can keep you informed of some of the wider issues facing our industry. Cambridge Assessment Network provides an international forum for professionals to develop and share their expertise in educational assessment.

It helps assessment professionals to keep up to date with the latest thinking in assessment, allowing them to debate ideas with like-minded people as part of an international assessment community.

OCR assessor bursariesWe’re delighted to offer bursaries to our assessors to undertake the Undergraduate Certificate in the Principles and Practice of Assessment. This course is offered by the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education (www.ice.cam.ac.uk/cppa), in association with Cambridge Assessment (www.canetwork.org.uk). It provides an introduction to educational assessment, considering its key principles and concepts. We sponsored eight assessors for the first time to participate in the 2012/13 course and feedback from those who took part was extremely positive.

We’re now offering places for the 2013/14 course (details of the application process were recently sent out to our active assessors) and we are also looking at other ways in which we can offer other opportunities for CPD in assessment to the wider assessor community. For those assessors selected to participate in the 2013/14 course, the OCR bursary will cover the course fee of £2445. In addition, we’ll also reimburse related travelling and overnight accommodation expenses We look forward to keeping you updated on the progress of the assessors who will participate in the 2013/14 course and any other course offerings which may be of interest.





Workplace pensions


OCR assessors selected to participate in the Undergraduate Certificate in the Principles and Practice of Assessment Course 2012/13 – attending one of the day-schools at Madingley Hall, Cambridge. Mark Dawe also attended the day-school to find out how the assessors are progressing and to share his experience from completing the course.

Attend a Network event Here at OCR, as part of the Cambridge Assessment Group, we’re delighted to support our current assessors in attending a wide range of events by paying your attendance fees and reimbursing your travel expenses. Details of future courses and how to register will be sent to our current assessors once they become available. Details of all events can be found on the Network website at www.canetwork.org.uk.

For staff training purposes and as part of our quality assurance programme your call may be recorded or monitored.© OCR 2013 Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations is a Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England. Registered office 1 Hills Road, Cambridge CB1 2EU. Registered company number 3484466. OCR is an exempt charity.

www.ocr.org.ukOCR customer contact centreGeneral qualificationsTelephone 01223 553998Facsimile 01223 552627Email [email protected]

Vocational qualificationsTelephone 024 76 851509Facsimile 024 76 851633Email [email protected]

Documents

Connections - OCR assessor news and views Connections Welcome Welcome to the first edition of Connections. We see the launch of this newsletter as the start of a concerted effort to