Is your school ready for the QCA Onscreen ICT Test for Year Nine?

This year is the last year of piloting the Onscreen ICT test for Y9’s before it becomes statutory in 2008.

Based on feedback from last year’s pilots, while subject teachers were generally prepared for the test and started to deliver test preparation sessions, they did not plan themselves enough curriculum time to adequately prepare the pupils fully. We have been supporting subject leaders over the past year to develop this and will continue to do so through the next few months.

One of the other key areas that the pilot schools found an issue was the administrative and logistic preparation for the test in terms of exams procedures, rules and allocations of staff and invigilators.

The test must to be run under exam procedures, and will have an effect on the availability of the ICT suites and technical staff during the test period for the rest of the school

To support schools in preparing the logistics of the test, we have agreed with John Smyth from the NAA to deliver a half day briefing and Q&A session for every exams officer in secondary schools in the LA. This session will provide an opportunity for questions to be answered directly from the NAA on issues such as extra time, readers and adequate timings between sessions in a school

The session will be held for all secondary schools on Monday 15^th January at the City Learning Centre, Billet Road, from 9.30 to 12.30 and is offered to all schools free of charge (this session will be offered again by the NAA after this year at a cost to schools). To register your exams officer at this session, please contact Kathryn Ryan on 020 8496 5807 before January 12^th.