Bridging The Gap To A Level

At 7pm on Tuesday seventh Oct I'm hosting a Twitter chat on the topic of bridging the gap from GCSE to AS level. Please bring together inwards using #mathscpdchat. If yous haven't participated inwards a Twitter chat before, this guide explains what it's all about. I recommend yous laid up TweetDeck in advance thus yous tin proceed rail of the conversation.

In grooming for this chat, this ship service outlines some of the issues that I desire to discuss. First I'll facial expression at why there's a gap, thus I'll facial expression at some possible strategies for bridging it. I'm actually keen to hear others' ideas on Tuesday.

1. Why is at that spot a gap?

A. The work amongst GCSE grades
Most schools require that students acquire a degree B at GCSE to produce maths at H5N1 level. This yr your AS aeroplane classes volition comprise a mix of students who got anything from 48% to 100% inwards their maths GCSE. This lower jump mightiness surprise you. Yes, students tin get less than half of the answers correct together with yet acquire a B. That agency a educatee tin embark on H5N1 aeroplane maths amongst absolutely no agreement of algebra, or no thought how to add together 2 fractions without a calculator.

Students are oft 'taught to the test' thus direct keep picayune conceptual agreement - they tin acquire a decent GCSE degree past times learning some tricks together with doing lots of exercise questions. Around 15% of students who attain a B inwards their maths GCSE become onto to bring maths at H5N1 level. The graph below, taken from this 2012 report, shows that of those students who got a B inwards their GCSE, alone 20% achieved A* - B at H5N1 level. The bulk got a degree D, E or U. Were those students given the incorrect advice well-nigh their post-16 options? And why did they non driblet maths at the terminate of Year 12? Bear inwards hear that having got a B at GCSE, they would direct keep expected to attain at to the lowest degree a B at H5N1 level, thus these students may direct keep been bitterly disappointed amongst their results.

Maths GCSE also doesn't produce plenty to differentiate at the transcend end. Around 5% of students nationally acquire an A* at GCSE. These students arrive at from those who are incredibly intelligent to those who were well-taught together with hard-working. This volition alter - the novel 'A**' degree (Grade 9) volition endure awarded to the transcend 3%. When the novel grades come upwardly into play from 2017 onwards, I promise to come across schools setting a minimum requirement of Grade vii to produce maths at AS aeroplane (Grades 7, 8 or nine volition endure equivalent to today's A* together with A). Am I beingness elitist? The novel core maths qualification volition endure suitable for others.

The work is that GCSE grades currently produce non give us a clear indication of who is suitable for H5N1 aeroplane maths together with who isn't. I've taught many students who got an H5N1 or A* at GCSE but went on to acquire a D, E or fifty-fifty a U at AS level. Why did they of a abrupt halt beingness 'really good' at maths?

Last yr I introduced an entrance essay inwards Year 12 - to a greater extent than on this here. It revealed shocking gaps inwards basic skills together with knowledge. Students who got an A* at GCSE could non produce long multiplication! I recommend that all schools produce an entrance essay for 2 reasons:
1. To position weaker students together with intervene amongst extra back upwardly from the start.
2. To create produce expectations - students who got a skillful degree at GCSE volition endure surprised if they acquire a depression grade inwards a basic skills test. They'll realise that they can't coast through the course of instruction together with volition endure motivated to piece of work hard.

Is at that spot a instance for setting at H5N1 level? I know some schools that give a maths essay at the start of Year 12 together with thus set students into sets.

B. The work amongst GCSE content
I did some analysis of the marks available on final year's higher Edexcel GCSE papers. This is what I found:

• Approximately 40% of the questions tested skills that are absolutely essential for AS marrow maths eg fractions, algebra, arithmetic, Pythagoras
• Approximately 35% of the questions tested marrow maths skills that are taught ane time to a greater extent than at AS aeroplane eg surds, indices, trigonometry, simultaneous equations, inequalities, quadratics together with coordinate geometry. 
• Approximately 25% of the questions tested applied topics (eg statistics) or topics that don't come upwardly up at H5N1 aeroplane (eg loci, transformations).

H5N1 educatee tin easily acquire a degree B amongst rattling few marrow skills.

I wonder if schools that direct keep embedded a mastery curriculum from a immature historic menstruum direct keep managed to eliminate the work of Year xi students lacking marrow skills.

Upcoming reforms volition aid to address the electrical flow problems amongst GCSEs. Until they are implemented, what tin nosotros produce amongst our Year 11s to improve laid upwardly them for H5N1 level?

There are extra qualifications to reckon - the Certificate inwards Further Maths has some peachy content similar matrices together with functions. Additional Mathematics is a challenging course, especially suitable for students looking to bring Further Maths at H5N1 level. Regardless of whether your transcend students are taking these extra qualifications, produce yous facial expression at interesting, non-curricular mathematics amongst them inwards Year 11?

At H5N1 level, students oft fighting amongst the alter inwards the way questions are worded. Perhaps nosotros should start looking at these kinds of questions earlier. For example, the interrogation below is from a C1 newspaper but would endure suitable for a GCSE student.

C1 Edexcel May 2013

2. Strategies for bridging the gap
So let's merely bring our electrical flow predicament - students commence their H5N1 aeroplane maths course of instruction totally unprepared. What tin nosotros produce to back upwardly them? Here's a few ideas together with questions.

A. Bridging resources
summer work to do. They also recommend resources that students tin usage over summertime to fill upwardly inwards whatever cognition gaps - hither are a few examples:

• Head Start to AS Maths (CGP)
• Collins Maths - Bridging GCSE together with H5N1 level: Student Book
• CIMT Step-Up to H5N1 Level Maths
• Introduction to H5N1 Level Maths - Maidstone Grammar

In my experience, urging students to produce piece of work during the summertime preceding Year 12 isn't especially effective because students merely don't come across the necessity. I've considered running a 'summer bridge' or transition course of instruction inwards the calendar week before term starts. I'd endure interested to hear from teachers who produce this.

B. Intervention
At my schoolhouse nosotros run compulsory remedial sessions inwards the Autumn term for students who don't produce good inwards their entrance test. We also offering an optional weekly Help Club to all students all yr round. When I was Key Stage v Coordinator I offered additional back upwardly through a student blog. What does your schoolhouse produce to back upwardly students who are struggling?

C. Course structure
Does your schoolhouse offering students flexibility over modules? Which applied modules piece of work best? We notice that M1 is also hard for many of our Year 12s (except those taking Physics) thus is best tackled inwards Year 13. The planned changes to H5N1 aeroplane maths volition standardise the course, removing the chemical constituent of choice.

How many hours a calendar week should students pass inwards lessons together with doing homework? When my H5N1 aeroplane teaching hours were cutting from 4.5 to 4 hours a calendar week due to budgetary constraints, my students suffered.

How large are your classes? At my schoolhouse nosotros currently direct keep eighteen - xx students per H5N1 aeroplane class. I've heard of schools amongst fifty-fifty bigger classes. At H5N1 aeroplane I shout upwardly 10 - 12 students per degree is far to a greater extent than effective.

D. Delivery
How produce yous organise the delivery of the course of instruction content? Do 6th shape classes direct keep to a greater extent than than ane teacher? What fellowship produce yous tackle the modules in?

At the start of Year 12, how much fourth dimension produce yous pass re-teaching GCSE topics such equally algebra, surds, indices together with quadratics?

Do yous direct keep whatever item strategies for teaching H5N1 aeroplane lessons? Any item resources?

E. Effort
How produce yous encourage students to piece of work hard? Do they produce equally much exercise equally they need to? At my schoolhouse nosotros laid out our expectations together with outline the back upwardly available inwards a student handbook.

My students are given Alps estimates equally targets to piece of work towards, but these are based purely on GCSE grades together with inwards my persuasion (partly for reasons outlined above), they are meaningless without instructor input.

Target setting (source: FFT)

Summary
I've made an infographic to summarise my thoughts together with questions well-nigh the path to H5N1 level. On Tuesday I desire to focus on 2 primal questions:

1. What structures should nosotros direct keep inwards position at Key Stage 4 to aid our students laid upwardly for H5N1 level?

2. What back upwardly tin nosotros offering during Year 12 to ensure students hitting the terra firma running together with don't autumn behind?

I facial expression frontward to hearing your ideas. If yous can't participate inwards Tuesday's chat thus delight part your ideas inwards the comments subdivision below.

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Update: 6/10/14

• @srcav shared his thoughts inwards response to my ship service inwards 'A Level Ready?'. 
• @Just_Maths shared 'KS4 to KS5 Transition', which she wrote final year. 
• @DrBennison wrote 'Thoughts on H5N1 Level Mathematics together with Making the Transition'.
• @nik_d_maths shared 'Why One Hundred Percent is Important' well-nigh early on testing inwards Year 12

All 4 posts comprise lots of skillful ideas together with insightful reflections.

Thanks also to @paulsuvs for pointing me inwards the direction of these National Transition Matrices which supply interesting information well-nigh the grades achieved at AS level. 

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