Katherine
Modified Exam Paper Project: Katherine's story
| Who: | Katherine* |
| School: | Mainstream secondary school |
| Modification: | Modification V – A4 24pt Bold & 50% extra time & Physical Mathematics Model (3D shapes) / Across four exam boards. |
*Please note the student’s name has been changed to maintain confidentiality.
Authors: Dr Liyuan Liu (Senior Assessment Researcher, Pearson), Kevin Mason (Senior Assessment Researcher, Pearson)
Citation: Liu, L & Mason, K (2023) Modified exam papers: Katherine’s story. Available at: Modified exam papers case studies (Accessed: 29 September 2023).
Katherine is a Year 12 student from a mainstream secondary school in England who completed her GCSE summer exams in 2022. She has been using modified materials, such as an iPad and electronic and regular magnifiers throughout her entire school experience. In her GCSE exams, she used the Modification V papers – A4 paper and 24-point font size with 50% extra time. We went to meet Katherine to hear first-hand about her GCSE exam-taking experience across four boards. Together, we discussed the challenges of a practical subject, marking inaccuracies and the need for more accessible past papers and 3D mathematical models for exam practice.
Our key findings
- Taking practical subjects can present inaccessible and unfair challenges.
- Addressing marking inaccuracies is essential.
- Practising past exam papers is beneficial.
- Using physical mathematics models improves stereopsis.
1. Taking practical subjects can present inaccessible and unfair challenges
(This refers to a non-Pearson GCSE but would apply across all awarding organisations.)
Katherine spoke openly about her experience of the practical GCSE Drama exam, which she felt was both unfair and inaccessible. She described how vision-impaired students like herself, lack depth perception and therefore found positioning difficult in a way her peers did not. Group work with those who were not visually impaired also proved challenging along with recording her work. Katherine told us, ‘I was struggling as if I didn’t know what I was doing, when it was just a sight-related issue’. She also said that, ‘some children with sight impairments such as mine... find it really difficult to explain why [they have] a hard time doing practical work’ to teachers, struggling to find the words to describe their experience’.
On the day of Katherine’s GCSE drama exam her teachers suggested that she should do some last-minute rehearsals with lighting. Katherine’s eyes are very sensitive to light, and this caused a discrepancy between her practice and her examined performance. She explained, ‘We [vision-impaired students] never did a rehearsal with lighting. So, when I did the performance for the first time, under proper stage lights, I felt like I could not see during parts of it, because I had never practiced under abrasive light. And as someone with albinism, my eyes are light-sensitive, so it was quite difficult.’
Given this negative experience, Katherine told us that she plans to choose all written subjects in the future. Written papers however, are not without their challenges and she intends on applying for extra time since all written exam papers are inevitably linked to eye strain.
Having listened to Katherine’s experience, we would encourage students and teachers to have a conversation with their centres to ensure that the environments they are going to be assessed in will not make their assessments less accessible for them. Checks on the lighting prior to a drama performance, or to the glare on a laptop screen in an exam room are practical ways to ensure accessibility.
2. Addressing marking inaccuracies is essential
(This refers to a non-Pearson GCSE but would apply across all awarding organisations)
Katherine was unhappy with her grade for GCSE English Literature and, with the support of her school, put in several appeals with her exam board which led to an eventual regrading. During the exam, Katherine switched between the enlarged paper, the standard paper and a PDF version on the laptop. This led to markers finding it difficult to locate her answers for each question across the three different formats. Subsequently, Katherine found she was not credited with marks for a large tariff question and suggested that this may have been due to markers’ unfamiliarity with enlarged papers and switching between the two papers and typed answers as well, which lead to a loss of marks.
She told us, ‘I had never experienced an enlarged paper before … I was not used to using this format. So, I wanted to use a regular paper even though... the font was too small for me.’ She continued, ‘Exam boards should provide templates - students need to get used to modified papers in the lead-up to exams’.
Guidance from JCQ outlines that SENCos must ensure that candidates are familiar with the format of modified enlarged papers or Braille papers being requested for examinations. If a candidate intends to use a non-interactive electronic (PDF) question paper in their examination(s), the SENCo must ensure they are familiar with the format.
3. Practising past exam papers is beneficial
Katherine identified a gap between the school’s version of modifications for exams and the actual GCSE exam paper. She told us that the school’s modifications, ‘do- not accurately reflect what the exam’s going to be like’, which made her feel less prepared than she hoped to be.
She continued, ‘Nobody except yourself could adequately understand your preferences or advocate for you as well as you can for yourself’ and emphasised the importance of practicing the modifications, including past exam papers and 3D diagrams, as a crucial step in the preparation up to GCSE exams.
Pearson modified past papers can be accessed via our Exams special requirements page.
We are able to supply past GCSE exam papers that were created at the time they were live exam papers via the past papers website. These are created by orders from centres so we may not have all the papers available in all modifications; it all depends on what was ordered at the time. If the paper you require is not on Pearson website, please contact: additional_requirements@pearson.com.
4. Using physical mathematics models improve stereopsis
The first time Katherine tried Pearson Edexcel 3D models was her GCSE foundational mathematics exam. She told us, ‘The 3D models really helped me, because, for the first time, I did not have to conceptualise and try to figure out the models … I’d never done a maths paper with 3D models...the first time was in the actual GCSE exams, and those were coincidentally the only exam times I have ever passed a maths exam.’ Katherine put this down to being able to really see the models and an exam paper with enhanced text without straining her eyes.
When we spoke to her, we invited her to look at the Pearson past exam papers in black and white. She suggested that coloured 2D diagrams for subjects like geography could help her recognise differences and would work well for students like her.
Pearson Edexcel physical mathematics models are made where appropriate for questions and are supplied with all Tactile and Braille orders. They can be requested by the Exam Officers for Large Print orders. Where appropriate, diagrams/images will be shown in both Colour and Black and white within the modified papers.
Disclaimers and acknowledgements
Disclaimers
a. This case study is based on one person’s experience, which gives us a valuable window into the specific challenges and opportunities they encountered but may not be representative of all students.
b. The above case study is part of the Pearson Modified Exam Papers Project, our interviewed student sat for subjects across four exam boards, and feedback was not linked solely to Pearson Edexcel GCSE exams.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the important contribution towards the work in this case study from the school and our young student expert, in particular their support in the Modified Exam Papers Research Project 2022-2023.
Furthermore, we wish to take the opportunity to extend our heartfelt thanks to our colleagues at Pearson UK, spanning various teams. These individuals include:
Benjamin Redmond, Grace Grima, Hayley Dalton (Pearson Qualifications & Assessment Research Team) for their invaluable comments, feedback and professional support during the case study.
Louise Denman and Rachel Laking (Modified Formats Team) for their role in highlighting the significance of conducting this research project and for providing recommendations based on the unique scenarios of students as presented in the case study.
Joanna Biggers and Lesley Roberts (Communications & Engagement Team) for their noteworthy contributions and support in shaping the MPP campaign plan. Their meticulous review and editing of the case study have been fully appreciated.