Secondary Mathematics Assessment Guide (Chapter 2 SA) 250915

8/19/2019 Secondary Mathematics Assessment Guide (Chapter 2 SA) 250915

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Chapter 2: Semestral Assessment 5

Chapter 2.

Semestral Assessment

2.1. Purpose of Semestral Assessment

Semestral assessments (SA) are school-based examinations

administered under formal conditions. SA is primarily summative,although it may also be used for formative purpose. As a form of

summative assessment, SA assesses the extent to which students

have achieved the learning outcomes specified in the syllabus,

primarily those pertaining to mathematical concepts, skills and

processes. For this reason, the coverage should generally be broad

and examine a representative sample of the syllabus taught. The

information is mainly used for making dec ision about progression.

2.2. Format of Semestral Assessment

The format of SA should take into consideration the item types, thenumber of items of each type, the duration of the paper, and the

distribution of marks across sections.

Lower Secondary

•

The suggested formats for the End-of-Year (EOY) SA for the

lower secondary mathematics syllabuses are given in Table

2.1 and Table 2.2.

• They reflect a gradual progression from upper primary level,

to the lower secondary level and eventually to the G.C.E.

examinations in terms of item types, number of items, and

number and duration of papers.

Table 2.1: Suggested format for O-Level & N(A)-Level Mathematics

EOY SA for Sec ondary 1 & 2

Option A: Calculators allowed for whole paper

Duration

Item Types & No.

of Questions

Mark

Allocation

Marks

(weighting)

Use of

calculator

Duration

2h 30min

(one paper

only)

Sec tion 1

14-16 short-

answer and

structured

questions

2-4 marks

per

question

50

(50%)

Yes

Section 2

7 to 8 structured

and long-

answerquestions

4-8 marks

per

question

50

(50%)

Yes


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Option B: Calculator allowed for Section 2 only

Duration Item Types & Noof Questions

MarkAllocation

Marks(weighting)

Use ofcalculator

Duration

2h 30min

(one paper

only)

Section 1 (1 h)

14-16 short-

answer and

structured

questions

2-4 marks

per

question

50

(50%)

No

Sec tion 2 (1 h 30

min)

7 to 8 structured

and long-

answer

questions

4-8 marks

per

question

50

(50%)

Yes

Remarks

• Short-answer questions generally test fundamental concepts

and skills.

•

Structured questions have several parts with a common

stem; where the parts may guide or suggest an approach tosolving the entire problem.

• Long-answer questions have no sub-questions or parts to

guide the students on the approach to solve the problem.

• Section 2 may include a problem in real-world context as

the last question. Such a problem contains authentic

information where students have to extract the relevant

mathematics, formulate the problem mathematically, solve

it and interpret the solution in the context of the problem.

Some examples are found in Annex A.


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Table 2.2: Suggested format for N(T)-Level Mathematics EOY SA for

Secondary 1 & 2

Paper &Duration

Item Types & No. of QuestionsMark

AllocationMarks

(weighting)

Paper 1

1h 15 min

10 - 12 short questions largelyfree from context, testing moreon fundamental concepts andskills.

2-4 marksperquestion

40

(50%)

1 longer question developedaround a context.

Questions will cover topicsfrom:

• Number and Algebra• Geometry and

Measurement• Real-world contexts

relating to the above

6-8 marks

Paper 2

1h 15 min

10 -12 short questions largelyfree from context, testing moreon fundamental concepts andskills.

2-4 marksper

question

40

(50%)

1 longer question developedaround a context.

Questions will cover topics

from:

• Number and Algebra• Statistics and Probability• Real-world contexts

relating to the above

6-8 marks

Remarks

• Calculators are allowed for both papers.

• A two-paper format is preferred for N(T) students. This helps

them in managing their revision for the SA.

• Most of the short questions will be context-free, testing more

on fundamental concepts and skills. However, there can still

be some short questions based on simple contexts. Longer

questions will be context-based, with each question

developed around a real-world context. This arrangement

aims to strike a better balance between testing of

fundamentals, solving problems in context and managing

the overall reading demand of the papers. Sample items

are given in Annex B.


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Upper Secondary

For the suggested format for the End-of-Year (EOY) SA for the

upper secondary levels, schools can take reference from the

respective GCE examinations.

2.3. Table of Specifications (TOS)

A Table of Specification (TOS) helps teachers who are setting and

vetting papers ensure adequate coverage of the content and

balance in the overall demand of the paper. It can provide

specifications of the mark distribution by content, cognitive levels

or nature of items and difficulty levels.

• Distribution by Content – The content to be assessed and

the distribution of marks across the content should be

worked out and specified so that there is broad, balanced

and adequate coverage in the assessment of the syllabus

taught.

• Distribution by Cognitive Levels or Nature of Items – Different

approaches can be used to ensure a balance in the overall

demand of the paper. One approach is to classify the items

by cognitive levels and specific a range of marks for eachlevel. The cognitive levels proposed in this guide take

reference from Bloom’s Taxonomy1 . The three cognitive

levels used for classification of an item are Knowledge (K),

Comprehension (C) and Application and Analysis (A) 2 .

Another approach is to use the nature of items e.g. context-

free questions or contextual questions.

• Distribution by Difficulty Levels – The overall difficulty of a

paper is determined by the mix of easy, moderate and

difficult items. An appropriately pitched paper will ensure

that students who put in effort can do well and it will also

provide an accurate reflection of the students’ learning. The

mathematical concepts, skills and processes assessed and

the cognitive levels or nature of the items affect the

difficulty levels of an item.

1 Blo om , B. S.; Eng e lha rt, M . D.; Furst, E. J.; Hill, W. H.; Kra thw o hl, D. R. (1956). Taxono m y of ed uc at iona l

ob jec t ives: The c lassif ic a t ion o f e duc at iona l go a ls. Han db oo k I: Co gni t ive d om ain . New York: Dav idMcKa y Comp an y 2 Ministry of Ed uc at ion (2004). Assessm ent G uide to Low er Sec on d a ry Ma the m at ic s. CPDD/ MO E

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Bloomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Bloomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Krathwohlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Krathwohlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Bloom


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2.3.1. Distribution by Content

The distribution by content can initially be estimated based on the

scheme of work. The percentage of marks for each topic may be

worked out as follows:

Relative Weighting for a particular topic

= Teaching Time for the Topic×100% Total Teaching Time

The relative weighting may be adjusted based on various other

considerations, for example,

• giving a lower weighting in SA for a topic as it has been

assessed through other weighted assessment in the year;

• adjusting overall weighting for topics taught in the current

year to allow for topics from the previous year to be tested

Lower Secondary

The suggested TOS by Content for the O-Level, N(A)-Level and

N(T)-Level Mathematics EOY SA for Secondary 1 and Secondary 2

are given in Table 2.3 and Table 2.4 respectively.

Table 2.3: Suggested TOS by Content for Secondary 1

ContentStrand

O-Level Mathematics

N(A)-Level Mathematics

N(T) -Level Mathematics

Number60-65%

40-45% 45-50%

Algebra 20-25% 5-10%

Geometry &Measurement

30-35% 25-30% 25-30%

Statistics &Probability

5-10% 5-10% 10-15%

Table 2.4: Suggested TOS by Content for Secondary 2

ContentStrand

O-Level Mathematics


N(T) -Level Mathematics

Number &Algebra

50-55% 50-55% 40-45%

Geometry &Measurement

35-40% 35-40% 30-35%

Statistics &

Probability10-15% 10-15% 20-25%


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Remarks

• The TOS are aligned with the content coverage for the

syllabuses at the lower secondary levels, where the content

was specified for each level.

•

While the TOS for N(A)-Level and N(T)-Level Mathematics atSecondary 1 delineates content under Number and

Algebra to manage the spread of questions, the relative

weighting for Number and Algebra for O-Level

Mathematics at Secondary 1 level is combined. This gives

flexibility of a higher weighting for Algebra as the majority of

the students offering this syllabus would have already

mastered most of the Number content well at the primary

level. There can thus be more items involving both Number

and Algebra concepts, for example, by including the

formulation of algebraic equations in solving of problems

involving ratio, rate and speed.

Upper Secondary

The same principles for estimating the relative weighting for a

particular topic and making adjustments can be applied to

Secondary 3. Depending on how the schools organize the Upper

Secondary content that is presented as a 2-year block in the

syllabus, the distribution may vary across schools.For the Secondary 4 EOY examinations, schools should take

reference from the Specimen Papers and relevant past years’

papers as a gauge.

2.3.2. Distribution by Cognitive Levels

The definitions for Knowledge (K), Comprehension (C) and

Application and Analysis (A) are as follows:

• Knowledge (K) refers to the ability to recall specific

mathematical facts, concepts, rules and formulae,

procedures and to perform straightforward computations.

• Comprehension (C) refers to the ability to translate and/or

interpret data/information and use mathematical concepts,

rules or formulae.

• Application and Analysis (A) refers to the ability to analyse

data/information and apply mathematical concepts, rules

or formulae.


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Elaboration on the KCA levels and sample items are given in Annex

C and D respectively.

Lower Secondary

The suggested TOS by Cognitive Levels for the O-Level and N(A)-

Level Mathematics EOY SA for Secondary 1 and Secondary 2 is

given in Table 2.5. The variation in cognitive demand in O-Level

and N(A)-Level Mathematics is reflected in the distribution of KCA.

Table 2.5: Suggested TOS by Cognitive Levels

The KCA levels are defined based on cognitive processes and not

on difficulty levels relative to a cohort of students. The

mathematical concepts and skills assessed also contribute to the

difficulty of each item. Therefore, not all Application and Analysis

items are equally difficult and neither are all Knowledge or

Comprehension items equally easy. Students who are weak in

Algebra may even find a Knowledge item on Algebra moredifficult than a Comprehension item on Number. Though the KCA

distribution may not give a complete gauge of the difficulty of the

paper, it is still a useful tool to provide some balance in the

cognitive demand of the paper.

For the setting of the EOY SA for N(T)-Level Mathematics, a simpler

approach is used. The format of assessment provides a description

of the nature of short and long questions as well as context-free

and contextual questions. The distribution of these questions is

already stated in the format of the paper. Together with thedistribution by content, this is sufficient to provide a means to

manage the overall demand of the paper.

Upper Secondary

Given that the interpretation of cognitive levels is often subjective,

the best approach to ensure that the school’s EOY SA at

Secondary 3 and Secondary 4 is similar to those in the respective

GCE examinations is to firstly, use our own understanding and

interpretation of KCA to analse the Specimen paper and past yearpapers and work out the range of each in percentage terms, then

CognitiveLevel

O-Level Mathematics


K 35-40% 40-45%

C 30-35% 35-40%A 25-30% 15-20%


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apply the same understanding and interpretation of KCA to

produce the school’s EOY SA paper. This ensures the comparability

of the school’s EOY SA to the respective GCE examinations and

reduces the discrepancy due to differences in understanding and

interpretation of KCA.

2.3.3. Distribution by Difficulty Levels

Besides taking note of the content and KCA distribution, teachers

should ensure that there is a spread of easy, moderate and difficult

items in each SA. As field-testing is not usually possible in a school

situation, teachers have to rely on their professional judgement to

anticipate the difficulty of an item.

As a rule of thumb, teachers can categorise items as very easy,easy, moderate, difficult and very difficult based on experience

and understanding of how well their students are learning and

have been performing in previous tests, and make sure that there

are more of the moderate items, fewer of the easy and difficult.

Very easy and very difficult items are generally not used in EOY SA

as they serve little purpose. Table 2.6 is given as a guide to gauge

the difficulty level of an item.

Table 2.6: Guide for Gauging the Difficulty Level of an Item

An item is judged to be

Basis for professional judgement

Very Easy Almost all students can do it.

Easy More than 3 out of 4 students can do it.

Moderate About half of the students can do it.

Difficult Less than 1 out of 4 students can do it.

Very Difficult Very few can do it.

Teachers may also ask themselves the following questions in

gauging the difficulty level of a test:

• What will be the expected mark or grade distribution of the

students taking the test? Will this be too high or too low,

given the ability profile of the students?

• Does the mark or grade distribution reflect the students’

abilities vis-à-vis the national profile, i.e., does it reflect the

kind of grades students are likely to get eventually for theGCE examinations?


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2.4.

Writing Test Items

In discussing the format and TOS in the earlier sections of this

chapter, the following item types were mentioned:

• Short-answer questions;

•

Structured questions and Long-answer questions;

• Problems in real-world contexts.

This section discusses the features of these item types and some of

the design considerations.

2.4.1. Short-answer questions

Short-answer questions (SAQ) are usually used to assess mastery of

fundamental concepts and skills. Each item typically assesses one

or two concepts and requires students to respond with a word, a

short phrase, a number, a symbol or a simple diagram.

SAQ provides an efficient means to assess a wide range of topics

as each question usually carries few marks, completion time is short

and marking is fast and easy.

Good practices when writing SAQ:

• The required degree of accurac y of the answer should be

specified where necessary.

• If a unit of measure is required, it should be provided in the

answer space.

Some examples of SAQ are given below:

1.

Simplify 2( + ) − ( − ).

Answer _____________[1]

2. The diagram below shows a sequence of patterns made up

of dots. Find the number of dots in pattern 10.

Answer _____________[2]

Pattern 1 Pattern 2 Pattern 3 Pattern 4


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3.

A map is drawn to a scale 1 : 25 000. The distance between

two towns on the map is 43 cm. Find the actual distance, to

the nearest kilometre, between the two towns.

Answer ____________km [3]

2.4.2. Structured questions and Long-answer questions

In general, structured questions and long-answer questions allow a

topic to be tested in greater depth. They carry more marks.

Emphasis is also placed on the approach or working, not just the

answer alone. C larity in presenting working and answers becomes

more important.

Structured questions could consist of several parts or sub-questions,

generally related to the same topic or context. The sub-questions

are usually arranged in a logical order to guide students through

the question or in order of increasing complexity or difficulty. The

longer questions described in the suggested format for the

N(T)-Level Mathematics SA papers are basically structured

questions (refer to Annex B, Example 8).

Long-answer questions are useful in testing application and higher-

order thinking skills. There are usually no sub-questions or parts to

guide the students to the required answers. Students have to

decide how best to approach the problem. LAQ may be part of a

structured question.

Structured questions and LAQ generally provide more opportunity

for assessment of mathematical processes such as reasoning,

communications and connections, and applications and

modelling. Some examples of the different types of questions for

the lower secondary levels are given at the end of this section. Forexamples of assessment items at the upper secondary levels,

teachers may refer to the specimen papers and accompanying

notes for the revised syllabuses that were given to schools.

Good prac tices when writing Structured Questions and LAQ:

• Structured questions and LAQ should contain an

introduction containing data/information for the question,

i.e., the stem of the item, followed by the question or sub-

questions


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• The stem should provide the major part of the information to

be used and indicate clearly what the item is about.

• Diagrams should support understanding of the question and

while not always drawn to exact measurements, they should

be clear, proportional and match the information provided.

• Additional information needed for a sub-question may be

introduced for use in that sub-question.

Some examples of structured questions are given below:

1. Two plants, A and B, were planted at the same time.

Plant A was 50 cm tall and plant B was 30 cm tall when

they were planted. The rate of growth of plant A is 10 cm

per year and the growth rate of plant B is 12 cm per year.

(a) Write down expressions for the heights in cm, h1 and h2, of plants A and B respectively, x years afterthey were planted.

Answer h1 = cm [1]

h2 = cm [1]

(b)

In how many years’ time will the plants be thesame height?

Answer years [2]

(c) After how many years will plant A be 10 cm shorter than plant B?

Answer years [2]


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2. A rectangular tank with length 11 cm and width 9 cm is

filled with water to a height of 7 cm. The water is

transferred into a cylindrical tank of diameter 14 cm.

(a) Find the volume of water in the rectangular tank.

Answer cm3 [1]

(b)

Find the height of the water in the cylindrical tank.

[Take 3.142π = ]

Answer cm [3]

Comments :

In th is struc tured q ue st ion , p a rt (a ) sug g ests a n

interme d ia te step . The stud en ts nee d to know tha t

the vo lum e o f wa ter rem a ins c on stan t wh en i t is

t ra nsferred from on e ta nk to the o ther .

Some examples of LAQ are given below:

1. Tom and J oe bought 24 kg of fertilizers for $350. They

repacked them into packets of 200 g and 300 g. There

were twice as many 300 g packets as 200 g packets.

Each 200 g packet was sold at $4 and each 300 g

packet at $5. if all packets of fertilizers were sold,

calculate the profit made as a percentage of the cost

price of the fertilizers [5]

Comments :

In th is struc tured q ue st ion , p a rt (a ) sug g e sts a n

a p proac h to so lving the p rob lem .


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Co mm en ts

This item is no t struc ture d a nd d o es no t sug g est a ny

a p p roa c h. To solve this item , stud e nts ne ed to:

(a ) ma ke sense o f the c onte xt ,

(b ) fo rm u la te an a lg eb ra ic eq ua t ion to f ind the num b er

o f pa c ke ts fo r ea c h pa c king ,

(c ) ap p l y the c onc ep ts o f p ro f it and pe rc en tag e .

2.

The figure above shows a shaded major segment of a

circle, centre O. C is the midpoint of the chord AB of

length 100 cm. OC=60cm.

Calculate the area of the major segment. [5]

Co mm en ts

This item is no t struc tured a nd d o es no t sug g est a ny

a p p ro a c h. To solve this item , stud en ts ne e d to:

(a ) f ind a ng le AO B a nd ra d ius OA using tang ent ra t io a nd

Py thag ora ’s theorem, a nd

(b ) use formula for area of sector and tr iangle to

c a lcu la te a rea of ma jo r seg me nt .

An example of a LAQ embedded in a structured question is given

below:

1.

In the figure, POQ is a straight line on level ground. OT is a

vertical tower. It is given that PO = 100 m, TA = 25 m,AQ = 80 m and ∠ OQA = 30o.

30o

T

25 m

A

80 m

QO100 m

P

O

BA C100cm

60cm


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(a) Find OA. [2]

(b) Find PT, correc t to two dec imal places. [2]

(c) J ane wants to go from Q to T. She can take

either one of the following routes:

Route X Walking up a flight of steps

along QA at an average speed

0.7 m/s, then take a lift from A to

T which takes 0.5 min.

Route Y Walking along QP at an

average speed of 1.8 m/s, then

take an escalator from P to T at

an average speed of 2.5 m/s.

Determine which route requires a shorter time.

Show your working to support your answer. [6]

Comments :

Pa rt (c ) is a LAQ em b ed d ed w ith in a struc tured

q uest ion. It c om b ines the to p ic s of g eo m etry a nd ra te.

Stude nts nee d to de c id e o n a st ra teg y to m a kec om p a rison o f the d if ferent t im es ta ken.

2.

A lighthouse L is 35 km from a port P and on a bearing of

130° from P. A ship, sailing at 8 km/h left the port on a

bearing of 048° and reac hed point A at 2 p.m.

(a) Find the distance AL. [2]

(b) Find the bearing of A from L. [3]

(c)

Continuing its course with the same speed anddirection, it reached point B which is due north of L.At what time did the ship reached B? [5]

Comments :

Pa rt (c) is a LAQ em b ed d ed w ith in a struc tured q uest ion.

Stud en ts a re req uired to interpret the inform a t ion g iven

and d raw a d iag ram to he lp them ide n t if y the re levan t

form ula to use to solve the p rob lem .


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2.4.3. Problems in Real-world Contexts (PRWC)

Problems in real-world contexts contain authentic information

whereby students have to extract relevant information, select

appropriate mathematical concepts, formulate the problem

mathematically using these concepts, solve it and interpret thesolution in the context of the problem. This type of questions is

different from the other contextual questions where the problem or

the model is already formulated mathematically. The materials

used and layout of information given for this type of problems is

also more authentic.

Good practices when writing PRWC:

• Such problems are best presented as structured questions.

Firstly, this allows for the contexts to be developed.

Secondly, the structure will guide students in understandingthe context. Having it as a (unstructured) long-answer

question is risky.

• As the material used is authentic, it is possible that not a ll

information given in the stem is relevant. Students need to

make some decisions and extract the relevant

data/ information to solve the problem.

• The first one or two sub-questions should guide the students

in understanding the context and the last sub-question

would be one which requires students to apply their

problem solving skills to make inferences, predictions or

decisions.

Examples of PRWC are found in Annex A

2.5. Mark Scheme

A mark scheme shows how marks will be awarded for a range of

acceptable responses, in particular, partial solutions. By giving a

break-down of the marks and having different mark schemes for

alternative approaches to the same problem, partial credits canbe given even if the final solution is flawed and a lternative solutions

can be fairly marked.

Considerations when drawing up a Mark Scheme:

• It is important to work out the solution and think through the

possible responses for each item. Doing so helps teacher to

gauge the demand of the item and check that the item is

unambiguous. If the solution is too demanding, more marks

may need to be awarded. If there are too many possible


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interpretations for the item, it may be ambiguous and may

not be suitable.

• The marks allocated for relevant working in each item

should reflect the emphasis on the thinking process involved

in solving the problem. However, if a question is such that

the working can be done mentally, then a different mark

scheme with full marks awarded for correct answer without

working should be included.

• If there is more than one acceptable answer or approach

to the question or if part-marks are to be given in certain

cases, these should be reflected in the mark scheme.

• Clear indication of the breakdown of marks for the different

working steps of a solution is necessary to ensure

consistency in marking.

Considerations when marking•

Teachers must exercise professional judgement and update

and re-standardise the mark scheme for unanticipated

solutions.

• No marks should be awarded when an incorrect method

has been used to arrive at a correct answer.

• If a question requires working and students omit some or all

of the important working, then markers should agree on the

penalty, if any.

• If a student makes an arithmetical error or misreads some

data, markers should ‘follow through’ the working by

awarding subsequent method marks, provided the method

is correc t and the difficulty or intent of the question remains

unchanged.

Table 2.7 shows the common types of marks used and how they

are awarded in a mark scheme.

Table 2.7: Common types of marks used in a mark scheme

Mark Types How it is awarded

M mark

(Method mark)

Awarded for correct method.

Not lost for numerical errors, algebraic slips or

errors in units.

Not given for an incorrec t method even if it

produces a correct answer.

Awarded to comparable steps in alternative

solutions.

Awarded for follow through in spite ofcomputational errors in previous steps where


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Mark Types How it is awarded

necessary.

A mark(Accuracy or

Answer mark)

Awarded for a numerically correc t answer or

intermediate step (answer) correctlyobtained.

Not given for ‘correc t’ answers or results

obtained from incorrect methods

B mark

Awarded for a correct answer independent

of ‘M’ marks

Not given for ‘correc t’ answers or results

obtained from incorrect methods

Some examples of mark schemes of individual items are given

below:

1.

Solve the equations

(a) x=

3 5 [1]

(b) ( − 1)( + 2) = 4( − 1) [3]

Mark

Awa r d edRem a rks

(a)3

5

(b ) (x - 1)(x + 2 - 4) = 0

x = 1 o r 2

B1

M1

A2

Ac c ep t 0.6

A c c e p t

man ipu la t ion

lea d ing to

equ iva len t

qua d ra t ic e qua t ion

x 2 -3x+2=0


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2. In the diagram, AB//DE and BCD and ACE are straight

lines. AB = 6 cm, DE = 9 cm and AE = 20 cm.

Find the length of AC . [4]

Mark

Awa r d edRem a rks

∆ABC is similar to ∆EDC

A C 6 2 = =

EC 9 3

2 AC = ×20 5

= 8

B1

M1

M1

A1

Id en t ify the 2 p a irs of

c orresp ond ing a ng les

3.

In the figure, POQ is a straight line on level ground. OT is a

vertical tower. It is given that PO = 100 m, TA = 25 m,

AQ = 80m and ∠ OQA = 30°.

(a) Find OA. [2]

D

A

B

C

E

30o

T

25 m

A

80 m

QO100 mP


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2.6. Review of SA papers

It is a good practice to involve more teachers in reviewing the SApapers. The review should cover 4 main areas:

• Physical design of the paper e.g. paper number, blank

pages, layout and formatting convention etc.

• Overall balance of the paper, in terms of alignment with the

TOS that include content coverage, distribution of marks or

KCA items and easy-moderate-difficult items.

• Quality of individual items e.g. clarity, bias, diagrams etc.

• Mark scheme

In reviewing the SA papers, some questions to consider for the 4

main areas are given below:

Physica l design of the paper

• Are the format conventions closely followed?

E.g.

− Does the layout of the paper allow for ease of

reading?− Are there adequate spaces for working?

− Are there questions that span two pages?

− Are graph papers needed?

• Are the general instructions and information provided clear?

E.g.

− What is the number of questions to be answered?

− What is the duration of the paper?

− Where and how are answers to be written?

− How will marks be allocated?

− What is the expected level of accurac y?

Overall balance of paper

• Is the TOS closely followed?

− Format of the paper e.g. sec tion, duration etc.

− Distribution by Content

− Distribution by Cognitive Levels or Nature of Items

− Distribution by Difficulty Levels

• Can the paper be completed within the time given?

•

What will be the expected mark distribution of the cohort?


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Chapter 2:Semestral Assessment 25

Quality of items

• Are the assessment objectives of the item within the scope

of the syllabus for that level?

•

Is the item clear and unambiguous, and does it contain allthe necessary information needed?

• Is the information given accurate or realistic?

• Is the diagram consistent with the information given in the

stem, clearly labelled and roughly to scale?

• Is the language used pitched at a suitable level for the

students?

Mark scheme

•

Does the mark scheme indicate clearly the marks allocatedfor the different parts of the item?

• Do the responses given in the mark scheme match the

intent of the items and the marks allocated?

• Does the mark allocation for each part of the item reflect

the demand?

• Are a ll likely responses given in the mark scheme with

equivalent mark allocation for corresponding parts?

2.7. Conclusion

Semestral assessments are meant for reporting and decision-

making. They are summative in nature although they may also

be used for formative purpose. Before setting the paper, it is

important to know the format of the paper and the TOS. The

format of the paper provides specifications of the item types,

number of items, duration and mark distribution. The TOS gives

the relative weighting and distribution of the topics to be

assessed and the cognitive levels of the items. The overalldifficulty level of the paper must be carefully planned, with an

appropriate distribution of easy, moderate and difficult items.

An appropriately pitched paper allows students to experience

sucess and gives a fair reflection of the effectiveness of

teaching and learning.

Documents

Secondary Mathematics Assessment Guide (Chapter 2 SA) 250915