Economics | Pearson qualifications

Economics

Subject update | Thu Apr 08 23:00:00 UTC 2021

April 2021 Economics update

At the end of March there were some big announcements and some key documents released about the arrangements for this year's GCSE and A level results. We released the additional assessment materials via the subject qualification pages on our website.

We will be releasing further support and exemplification over the next few weeks. By 19 April all the materials for determining grades this summer will be released and we will continue to let you know as and when they become available.

Read more

Clearly, there will be a lot of information coming out over the next few weeks and it is important that you have the latest information. To keep up to date you can:

JCQ Guidance

The Joint Council for Qualifications have released comprehensive guidance on the process for deriving grades this summer. This guidance, along with our support, will be an important document as centres work to determine grades for UK qualifications in summer 2021.

Find out more

For our international qualifications, including International A Level and International GCSE, Pearson have produced a comprehensive guidance document on the process for deriving grades this summer.

Go to the Pearson guidance (PDF 1.4MB)

Access 2021 training and support

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Support and guidance

Our Pearson Professional Development Academy is now live and will host detailed guidance and support in the form of video presentations, infographics and step-by-step guides to support you in determining fair grades for your students so they can progress on to their next stage.

This will include:

  • how to reach grading decisions
  • the creation of assessment materials
  • the quality assurance process and appeals
  • general support around timelines and submission systems.

Go to the Pearson Development Academy resources

In addition to this, subject support guides can now be found on the individual qualification pages. Full details and links can be found on our summer 2021 support page.

Go to the summer 2021 support page.

We’re also providing live and pre-recorded support and guidance events via our Professional Development Academy as well as running optional Q&A sessions which we will record and make available. These events are now live so please do sign up for these.

Sign up for training events

Professional Development Academy

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Professional Development Academy

The Professional Development Academy is a one-stop shop that provides access to a wide range of flexible, high-quality online courses for teachers.

You will find a range of on-demand, live and self-guided training courses creating flexible options for learning at a time that suits individual needs.

Browse all courses on the Professional Development Academy.

Three-Day Course for Teachers New to Economics

This course is designed to prepare teachers to deliver Economics for the first time. It includes direct instruction on 8 ‘toolkit’ topics such as market failure, AD/AS analysis, monetary, financial and development economics. Delegates are divided into 2 groups: boffins and beginners.The course is run by Ian Marcouse with a complimentary memory stick including powerpoints and materials.

The course is perfect for: teachers switching from other subjects (Business, and perhaps Geography or P.E.); new graduates; PGCE or Teach Firsters who need to understand the level required for high grades; and Economics teachers who would like the time to reflect and develop (and get more/better resources)

July 5th – 7th 2021: Cavendish Conferences, 44 Hallam Street, London W1 (near Oxford Circus tube)

PLEASE NOTE THERE IS ALSO AN ONLINE VERSION OF THIS COURSE. This gives live sessions that are recorded, so you can access them again (free) at any time over the coming 12 months.

Find out more

Apps for teachers

Teachers tend to think of using apps as teaching tools in the classroom. Yet, they can also be used for general tasks, such as workload management, productivity, and organisation.

Find out more

ebea

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The EBEA

The Economics, Business and Enterprise Association (EBEA) is the professional subject association for everyone interested in the teaching and study of Economics, Business and Enterprise.

It is free to become a registered member and this gives you access to an archive of journals and articles which are older than one year. Paid membership (which is tax deductible) provides you with a monthly newsletter and a termly printed journal.

Go to the EBEA site

Free FT for Schools

The Financial Times is offering free online subscriptions to students aged 16-19, their teachers and schools around the world, and to colleges of further education in the UK.

Find out more

Our Economics Qualifications

 

Econ A squirrels

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A level Economics Spec A

Please open the support tab below for links to delivery and assessment support,  as well as to the Facebook Group and the Subject Community.

We will now work with you to make sure students receive grades to progress to the next stage of their education.

We'll provide detailed guidance and support to ensure this happens. This will include how to reach grading decisions, the creation of assessment materials, the quality assurance process and appeals, along with the general support around timelines and submission systems.

Additional Assessment Materials were released at the end of March.

The second phase of support and guidance material will will come after Easter around 12 April 2021 and will focus on aspects such as marking exemplification.

The final phase of materials release will be grading exemplification on 19 April.

These materials are available in the subject pages under ‘Summer 2021 assessment materials for centres’.

The additional assessment materials have been drawn from past paper content, from both published and unpublished material. A reminder of what this means below:

  • ‘Published’ those materials publicly available on the Pearson website and
  • ‘Unpublished ’those materials still under padlock to our centres (mainly papers from 2019/2020). 
Question paper coverage is such that it allows us to draw upon our past paper content, without the need to supplement with new content.
 
The Additional Assessment Materials, are content organised to allow teachers the freedom to select and assess the content that they have taught their students. This should mean that teachers will have a flexible approach to assessing their students.

In order to use the organised content, teachers have been provided with a mapping grid that includes details on where this content has been drawn from, as well as information like which assessment objectives the question meets.

As suggested by the Secretary of State a proportion of this content will be drawn from unpublished materials (namely 2019/2020 papers).

The mark schemes for these questions will also be provided to teachers.
 
The use of additional assessment materials in assessing your students is optional. As stated in the Ofqual Consultation outcome 'It would therefore be potentially unfair to enforce compulsory use of these materials'.

In this online update we will:

  • summarise the key outcomes from the summer 2021 consultations
  • outline the approach for deciding TAGs
  • confirm the timelines and processes for TAG submission
  • share the support we have available for Summer 2021 assessment
  • give you an opportunity to ask questions.


 

Econ B tree

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A level Economics Spec B

Please open the support tab below for links to delivery and assessment support, as well as to the Facebook Group.

Find out about support for both delivery and assessment as well as a group to meet colleagues teaching the same specification.

We will now work with you to make sure students receive grades to progress to the next stage of their education.

We'll provide detailed guidance and support to ensure this happens. This will include how to reach grading decisions, the creation of assessment materials, the quality assurance process and appeals, along with the general support around timelines and submission systems.

The second phase of support and guidance material will will come after Easter around 12 April 2021 and will focus on aspects such as marking exemplification.

The final phase of materials release will be grading exemplification on 19 April.

These materials are available in the subject pages under ‘Summer 2021 assessment materials for centres’.

The additional assessment materials have been drawn from past paper content, from both published and unpublished material. A reminder of what this means below:

‘Published’ those materials publicly available on the Pearson website and
‘Unpublished ’those materials still under padlock to our centres (mainly papers from 2019/2020).

Question paper coverage is such that it allows us to draw upon our past paper content, without the need to supplement with new content.

The Additional Assessment Materials, are content organised to allow teachers the freedom to select and assess the content that they have taught their students. This should mean that teachers will have a flexible approach to assessing their students.

In order to use the organised content, teachers have been provided with a mapping grid that includes details on where this content has been drawn from, as well as information like which assessment objectives the question meets.

As suggested by the Secretary of State a proportion of this content will be drawn from unpublished materials (namely 2019/2020 papers).

The mark schemes for these questions will also be provided to teachers.

The use of additional assessment materials in assessing your students is optional. As stated in the Ofqual Consultation outcome 'It would therefore be potentially unfair to enforce compulsory use of these materials'.

In this online update we will:

  • summarise the key outcomes from the summer 2021 consultations
  • outline the approach for deciding TAGs
  • confirm the timelines and processes for TAG submission
  • share the support we have available for Summer 2021 assessment
  • give you an opportunity to ask questions.


 

IAL Economics

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IAL Economics

Please open the support tab below for links to delivery and assessment support. 

You will also find information on the 2021 summer exam series, student book answers and university recognition of IALs.

In these training sessions, we will go through the processes and guidance that centres taking International qualifications need to be aware of for May/June 2021.

This will include up-to-date information and guidance on:

  • Grading
  • Quality Assurance
  • Appeals
  • Further support available for centres

You will also be given the opportunity to ask questions.

Please note: This session will focus on the series as a whole and the International GCSE and A Level suites. We will not look in-depth at arrangements for particular subjects.

The training sessions are on 12 April and 15 April.

We will be providing new unseen content for International AS/A Levels to support the provision of teacher assessed grades in May/June.

These test materials can be used in two ways:

1. As unseen materials presented to students in a controlled situation, in a specified timeframe, for them to respond to

or

2. After the specified timeframe, in the knowledge that they may be familiar to students, used as one part of the evidence that supports the teacher grade.

Individual countries can choose to mandate these optional elements and will communicate their decisions directly with their schools. In countries where the Ministry of Education does not choose to mandate an approach, the decision can made by schools who will communicate directly with students.

We will start to dispatch unseen content materials from 9 April for delivery into centres before 26 April. We will track all deliveries and work with you should we see any delays in transit. Please remember that these materials are secure until the dates specified as some students will be using this material under controlled conditions and should be treated in the same way as any other examination materials.

The 2021 Unseen Content Assessment Schedule for IAL Economics is as follows:

To support the use of these unseen materials, we'll be offering an optional marking service where our expert examiners will mark your students’ responses. We'll mark the test materials and return a mark to you for your consideration when deriving the student grade. We'll provide you with support to understand how the mark aligns with performance descriptors so that you can be confident in your understanding of the mark. This will be an optional service and if you'd prefer to mark the materials yourself, we'll be providing mark schemes and training materials so that you can do so with confidence.

If you wish to use the optional marking service, please ensure you complete the following steps in Edexcel Online:

1. Select GCSE or International A Level from the qualification drop down as required
2. Select ‘International Optional Marking Service’ from the menu
3. Select 'June 2021' and press the ‘Next’ button
4. You will be able to see all subjects for that qualification in the list and your current entries - you can then tick the subjects you require marking or select all if applicable and click submit at the bottom of the page.

We can confirm that the above needs to be completed by 26 April 2021.

We would also like to confirm that use of the marking service is included within the qualification entry fees confirmed in January.

The International AS/A level October exam series will go ahead as planned.

ial-econ-oct-2021-tt

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If you bought copies of the textbooks for this qualification the answers to the questions set in the textbooks are available.

We have secured IAL recognition from over 30 new global universities and admissions bodies.

New countries added to the list include Belarus, Israel and Turkey and we increased the recognition in popular European destinations Italy, Netherlands, Germany and Spain.


 

IG Econ

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International GCSE Economics

Please open the support tab below for links to delivery and assessment support as well as to the subject community.

You will also find information on the 2021 summer exam series.

Find out about support for both delivery and assessment as well as how to contact other teachers.

In these training sessions, we will go through the processes and guidance that centres taking International qualifications need to be aware of for May/June 2021.

This will include up-to-date information and guidance on:

Grading
Quality Assurance
Appeals
Further support available for centres

You will also be given the opportunity to ask questions.

Please note: This session will focus on the series as a whole and the International GCSE and A Level suites. We will not look in-depth at arrangements for particular subjects.

The training sessions are on 12 April and 15 April.

We will be providing new unseen content for International GCSEs to support the provision of teacher assessed grades in May/June.

These test materials can be used in two ways:

1. As unseen materials presented to students in a controlled situation, in a specified timeframe, for them to respond to

or

2. After the specified timeframe, in the knowledge that they may be familiar to students, used as one part of the evidence that supports the teacher grade.

Individual countries can choose to mandate these optional elements and will communicate their decisions directly with their schools. In countries where the Ministry of Education does not choose to mandate an approach, the decision can made by schools who will communicate directly with students.

We will start to dispatch unseen content materials from 9 April for delivery into centres before 26 April. We will track all deliveries and work with you should we see any delays in transit. Please remember that these materials are secure until the dates specified as some students will be using this material under controlled conditions and should be treated in the same way as any other examination materials.

The 2021 Unseen Content Assessment Schedule for International GCSE Economics is as follows:

ig-econ-summer-2021-tt-ucas

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To support the use of these unseen materials, we'll be offering an optional marking service where our expert examiners will mark your students’ responses. We'll mark the test materials and return a mark to you for your consideration when deriving the student grade. We'll provide you with support to understand how the mark aligns with performance descriptors so that you can be confident in your understanding of the mark. This will be an optional service and if you'd prefer to mark the materials yourself, we'll be providing mark schemes and training materials so that you can do so with confidence.

If you wish to use the optional marking service, please ensure you complete the following steps in Edexcel Online:

1. Select GCSE or International A Level from the qualification drop down as required
2. Select ‘International Optional Marking Service’ from the menu
3. Select 'June 2021' and press the ‘Next’ button
4. You will be able to see all subjects for that qualification in the list and your current entries - you can then tick the subjects you require marking or select all if applicable and click submit at the bottom of the page.

We can confirm that the above needs to be completed by 26 April 2021.

We would also like to confirm that use of the marking service is included within the qualification entry fees confirmed in January.

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