DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ASSESSMENT POLICY FOR TAUGHT MASTERS PROGRAMMES 20142015 There are two main types of assessment: formative, which primarily aims to give helpful feedback to enable students to develop their understanding of the topic and to improve their future work; summative, which primarily aims to provide a grade that reflects the general standard of the work submitted and is recorded. The department’s policy of assessment places emphasis on both formative and summative assessment. For taught MAs, the department works within the university system of modularisation, whereby each MA is based on modules totalling 180 credits. Details of the modules, together with the criteria involved in assessing work, and the criteria for the award of an MA with distinction or merit, can be found in the appropriate MA programme student handbook. For taught MAs, assessed work that contributes to the taught component is anonymously moderated - both the marker and the moderator have the name of the student withheld. Exceptions to this include The Practice of English Language Teaching and Planning and Communicating Research modules, and the dissertation. There are two parts to the assessment for The Practice of English Language Teaching, a practical involving delivery of a twenty minute lesson segment and a written submission comprising a lesson plan and critical reflection. Both are double marked. There are three parts to the assessment for Planning and Communicating Research, a research proposal, an ethics application, and an oral presentation. Planning and Communicating Research is marked on a pass/fail basis. Any research proposals, ethics applications or oral presentations which are awarded a fail are double marked. Dissertations are fully double marked, but the writer’s name is on the title page, as is the case for other research dissertations and theses. The MA TEYL however is different in that it has no dissertation and all eight assignments are double marked. The role of the external examiner includes considering samples of student work (including assignments, and where relevant, exam scripts and dissertations) in order to check that the grades awarded by internal markers and moderators are fair and consistent. Students are required to submit work by the deadline set, and must contact departmental Mitigating Circumstances Committee before this date has expired if they need to make a case for more time. Requests for extensions beyond the end of the academic programme need to be sent for approval to the Registry. Students are required to sign a form at the start of the programme on academic misconduct (which includes plagiarism and collusion), and complete the university’s Academic Integrity Tutorial on plagiarism. A copy of the department’s written policy for MA programmes now follows. However, all students and staff should consult the appropriate student handbook for precise details of the assessment requirements and procedures. Prof Ian Davies Chair of the Graduate School October 2014 A Assessment Methods The method of assessment of each MA programme depends upon the work carried out in the programme. Students are assessed on the basis of the submission of a dissertation, module assignments or, for some modules, an examination. For October 2014, the Department will offer seven MA programmes. These are as follows: MA MA MA MA MA MA in in in in in in Global and International Citizenship Education (MAGICE) Education (MAE) Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching (MAALELT) Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching (MAALLT) Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Teaching English to Young Learners by distance (MATEYL) The assessment requirements for each of these programmes are summarised below: Programme MAGICE MAE Assessment requirements 12,000 word dissertation (60 credits), 4 assignments (20 credits each) and a Research Methods examination (20 credits). MAALELT MAALLT MATESOL In the MATESOL, there is a Dissertation, 3 assignments and two examinations: Research Methods and English Linguistics (each 20 credits). Students on MA TESOL taking the optional module The Practice of English Language Teaching complete a practical and produce a lesson plan and critical reflection (see above for details) rather than an assignment. In addition, all students have a Pass/Fail assessment for Planning and Communicating Research which comprises preparation of a research proposal and ethics application and delivery of an oral presentation. MA TEYL Eight module assignments (20 credits each) plus two shorter assignments (10 credits each) The taught MA programmes all offer two exit qualifications. There is a Diploma, for students who successfully complete 120 credits. For full-time MAs, this represents passing the taught component (inc Planning & Communicating Research). Students who complete 60 credits can be awarded a Certificate in Educational Studies. For students on full-time MAs, this means successfully completing 3 modules of the taught component (other than Planning & Communicating Research, which is Pass/Fail assessed). Exceptions to this are (1) the MA TEYL, for which the Certificate is called Certificate in Teaching English to Young Learners (continuing students only) and (2) the MA TESOL, where a Certificate in TESOL is available instead of Certificate in Educational Studies for students who successfully complete the two core modules as part of their three completions. B Assessment Procedures Module Assessment All module assessment tasks that contribute towards the award of the degree are graded on the UNIVERSITY MARK SCALE (0-100) on first submission, apart from Planning & Communicating research, which is assessed on a multi-task Pass/Fail system. There are three categories of pass in the university mark scale for taught MA programmes: 70+ Distinguished performance at masters’ level 60-69 Good at masters’ level 50-59 Satisfactory performance at masters’ level A mark of 50 or above is considered to be a PASS; a mark below 50 is considered to be a FAIL. All module assessments are normally graded DISTINGUISHED, GOOD, SATISFACTORY or (CLEAR OR MARGINAL) FAIL on first submission. Compensation If a student fails one or more modules (i.e. achieves a mark below 50), s/he may still receive credit for the failed module(s) provided that (i) s/he has failed no more than 40 credits, and (ii) no marks are lower than 40, and (iii) the rounded credit-weighted mean over all modules (including the failed module(s)) is at least 50. Dissertation cannot be compensated. Reassessment If a student fails modules and the award requirements cannot be met by application of the compensation criteria, the student will be allowed a reassessment up to a maximum of 40 credits (i.e. 2 x 20 credit modules), provided s/he has failed no more than 60 credits, with no more than 40 creditworth of outright fails (i.e. with mark less than 40). In the case that a student has a clear fail grade below 40 and a marginal fail between 40 and 50, the student can choose whether to be reassessed on the marginal fail. After the student has been made aware of their situation by the Progression Board (or the Examiners’ board in the case of MA TEYL), he/she will be able to consult their module tutor and supervisor about the resubmission and a new deadline date will be set (normally 3 weeks after receiving the message from the Progression Board; possibly later where an examination has to be organised). Dissertation (Independent Study module) assessment A dissertation is also graded DISTINGUISHED, GOOD, PASS or (MARGINAL or CLEAR) FAIL. If a student fails a dissertation and it receives a fail mark of 40 – 49, the student will receive written feedback, a guide list of points to revise and a deadline date for resubmission (normally 2 months). The student will normally be able to consult with their supervisor about how best to revise the dissertation on one occasion. A dissertation cannot be compensated. Overall distinction and merit The conditions that need to be met for the award of a distinction or merit for a taught MA may be found in the appropriate programme student handbook. These conditions take account of the differences between programmes in their modular structure and assessment weightings. Marking procedure All assessment tasks which contribute to the award of the degree are moderated (assignments and examinations) or double marked (dissertation) internally. The marker for an assignment is normally the module course tutor. The first marker for a dissertation is normally someone other than the supervisor; the supervisor is normally the second marker. When the original markers and / or moderators are unable to reach an agreement, a further internal marker is appointed by the Board of Examiners. The third marker has access to the report(s) of the first two markers as well as the script and determiners the mark, documenting their rationale. Students receive detailed written feedback on all module assignments and dissertations. This normally happens within 6 weeks of the assignment being submitted. C The role of the external examiner The role of the external examiner is: to comment on the programme structure and content; to comment on the standard of work achieved by students whose work has been seen; to raise any issues which might lead to improvements in the quality of delivery, students’ experiences and the assessment process; to approve the recommendation for the award of the degree; to submit a written report for the Department and the Vice-Chancellor. An external examiner coming into post receives all relevant graduate studies departmental documentation including the appropriate programme handbook. This is in addition to the documentation sent out centrally by the University. The external examiner will be briefed about their role by the programme leader. As part of that briefing they receive relevant departmental documentation. They are also able to seek further advice from the Director of Graduate Studies. External examiners are sent a sample of assessed work and are asked to produce written comments on the standard of work achieved. In addition, the external examiner will normally visit York once each year in order to discuss the programme with the programme leader and to look at other work that has been assessed. In some cases, they will also meet students on the programme during their visit. The external examiners for the taught MA programmes attend an annual examiners’ meeting in the Autumn term. External examiners also submit a written report to the Department and to the Vice- Chancellor, with copies being made available to University Teaching Committee. The oral and written reports by external examiners is discussed departmentally and is input to the Annual Programme Review in the Autumn term. D The recommendation of awards The recommendation for the award of the MA degree to an individual student is made by the Board of Examiners and the external examiner once the student has fulfilled one of the requirements below: submitted a dissertation of the specified length which has received a PASS grade and submitted module assignments all of which have been graded PASS (or received compensation). for the MA in Teaching English to Young Learners (by distance) (continuing students only), submitted eight module assignments which have received PASS grades (or received compensation). Recommendations for Diplomas and Certificates are made by the Board of Examiners, if the taught component of the MA has been passed (Diplomas) or three of the five modules of the taught component which are marked 0100 using the university mark scale have been successfully completed (Certificates). For the MA TEYL recommendations will be made for a diploma if modules worth 120 credits have been successfully completed or for a Certificate if modules worth 60 credits have been successfully completed. All module assignments and dissertations submitted by students for the purposes of assessment which counts towards the award of the degree are retained by the Department for one year following the award of the degree. E Progression and procedures for failing students In the first instance, the responsibility for monitoring student progress lies with the student’s supervisor. The normal expectation in the Department is that students will meet with their supervisor twice in autumn term, three times in spring term, three times in summer term, and have three contact points with their supervisor in the summer vacation, at least two of which are face-to-face meetings. The Department has a standard form on which a record of the discussion at supervision meetings is made by the supervisor. Programme leaders and the Director of Taught Programmes (Teaching and Learning) are notified of any difficulties so that they are dealt with at an early stage. For the MA in Teaching English to Young Learners (by distance) all students are expected to contact their supervisor at least six times during the each study year (i.e. on twelve occasions over the two years). These contacts normally take place via e-mail, and all e-mail communications with students are kept on file. The programme tutors also meet on a regular basis to monitor students’ progress. F Guidance on the procedures to be followed in the event of illness Students should complete a Mitigating Circumstances form and submit it to the Mitigating Circumstances Committee if illness is affecting their academic work or their ability to submit a required piece of assessment. Students are encouraged to discuss the situation first with their supervisors. Such cases may be discussed by the Mitigating Circumstances Committee, and where relevant, as starred business at the Board of Studies. The Committee has several options available to it in such cases (see section 26 of the university Guide to Assessment Standards, Marking and Feedback). G Extensions to deadlines for assignments Students who are unable to meet the deadline for submission of a taught module assignment (but who are still within their period of registration) may apply for an extension to the deadline, by completing a mitigating circumstances form. Students are advised in programme handbooks that normally only illness covered by a medical note or certain compassionate grounds would constitute acceptable reasons for granting an extension to a deadline, but a more complete list of acceptable reasons can be found in section 26.3 of the Guide to Assessment. Where an extension to a deadline would take the student beyond their period of registration, a formal request for an extension has to be made to the Student Progress Officer in Registry Services and University Special Cases Committee. H Submission procedures and penalties for late submission The deadlines for summative assessments are described in the department handbooks. Summative work must be handed in to the Administrator for Graduate Programmes before the published deadline. An electronic version must also be uploaded to the VLE. The student submitting work receives a receipt which is countersigned by the Administrator for Graduate Programmes. A deadline means a final date and you must hand your assignment in to the office before the specified time. All work submitted late, without valid mitigating circumstances, will have 10 marks deducted for each day (or part of each day) that the work is late, up to a total of five days, including weekends and bank holidays, e.g. if the work is awarded a mark of 57, and the work is up to one day late, the final mark is 47. After five days, the work is marked at zero. I University’s appeals procedure Students who fail their degree have certain rights of appeal which are referred to in Regulation 2.8 for research students and Regulation 6.7 for taught postgraduate students in the University’s Ordinances and Regulations. J Academic misconduct Students need to be aware of the severity of the penalties associated with various forms of academic misconduct, including plagiarism and collusion. Sections on plagiarism and collusion are incorporated into all higher degree programme handbooks and VLE. At the beginning of their programmes all graduate students in the department are required to pass the university’s online academic integrity tutorial (and submit the certificate to the department during the Autumn term. In the case of the MA TEYL, where cohorts can start at different times of the year, students are required to submit the Academic Integrity Certificate immediately after their Intensive introductory Module. K Assessment feedback to students In Education, the vast majority of MA teaching occurs in seminars and tutorials, with relatively few formal lectures. This means that there is often an overlap between teaching and the provision of formative assessment which is given orally by tutors to students during or after seminars and tutorials as part of the teaching process. In order to help taught MA students develop appropriate skills and language for their assignments, the tutor for each option module in Term 1 sets a short mid-term assignment on which formative written (and often oral) feedback is provided before the first assignments are written and submitted. The department adheres to the policy guidelines outlined by the University Teaching Committee’s working group on providing feedback to students. In particular: All students are given a written feedback report on assessed pieces of work (including the dissertation) which contains comments and a grade. Written work is assessed in accordance with criteria outlined in the student MA programme handbooks. Supervisors play a role in supporting students in completing pieces of work for assessment, which includes commenting on sections of assignments and drafts of the dissertation, but they do not offer a view on the grade that they expect the piece of work to achieve once examined. A copy of a written report on assessed pieces of work is also given to the student’s supervisor to facilitate appropriate discussion. In the case of the MA TEYL, assessment feedback reports to students are in practice written by supervisors. Feedback on the three assessed tasks for Planning and Communicating Research receives feedback as follows: Dissertation proposal and Ethics Audit Form: oral from supervisor; Oral presentation: written diagnostic report sheet from marker. In the latter case, the marker will also give immediate oral feedback where time permits.