The examination period is a difficult time for both staff and students. While a feeling of too much to revise in too little time can often drive students to the habits they should be avoiding - rereading notes exhaustively or cramming the night before an exam - the College’s whole school approach is one of direct confrontation of the problem, utilising a system based on research which has picked out the fundamentals of effective revision.
Assessment and feedback occurs regularly during the College year, summative in Mock exams (December and March), and formative in class tests, where, due to our small class sizes, feedback can be deployed promptly, individually and in detail. This video is a good example of the partnership between students and staff at EIC in marking and assessment.
As tensions rise in the run up to exams, the College raises it’s game to meet the challenge. Month’s Marks, given throughout the year to track progress, become Week’s Marks, based on weekly assessments made by our staff to reproduce the rigour of the exams. The three steps to this approach are:
A - ASSESS
students take the weekly test, marked quickly
I - IDENTIFY
students see where your strengths and weaknesses lie
M - MODIFY
where appropriate, they then adapt their approach
This helps in a multitude of ways, from perfecting student familiarity, timing or technique in exams, to ensuring there is a sufficient grasp of knowledge across the syllabus. Repetition breeds confidence.
Our level of monitoring thus becomes even closer and in order to further enrich the approach, data is fed back by personal tutors to parents; they can be involved throughout, offering further support at the time it is most needed.
The regularity of the approach means that we ask a great deal of our students, and indeed our teachers in this period, but we refuse to miss an opportunity to add value.
Allan Cairns
Vice Principal (Academic)
Blog Teaching and Learning
Share