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& The English Baccalaureate Exam Specifications All Streams INTRODUCTION

The Baccalaureate English exam is a final written achievement test based on the standards set forth for the teaching of English in high school (See Guidelines 2007) The form! the content and the tas"s of the exam aim at assessing the testees# "nowledge and s"ills in reading! vocabular$! grammar! functions and writing The test %a%er com%rises three main sections& 'eading (om%rehension! )anguage and *riting The different test tas"s lend themselves to different scoring methods that are clearl$ s%ecified for each section The scoring methods involve (i) the criteria for what constitutes +successful com%letion,! and (ii) whether res%onses are scored as right or wrong! or with var$ing degrees of correctness The Baccalaureate test %a%er ta"es the curriculum and official guidelines as a framewor" of reference -t also ta"es into account the s$llabus distribution! time allocation! coefficient! test sections! rubrics! and weighting for various streams

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" S#$$ABUS BREA%DO&N

Streams S'lla(us an) Text(oo*s The s$llabus s%ecified in the Guidelines (2007) The textboo"(s) ado%ted b$ the .inistr$ of Education for the second $ear Baccalaureate S'lla(us co!erage /ll learners must cover the "+ units , four supplementar' rea)ing texts -hich are supplie) in the text(oo*.s/ These reading texts and tas"s are related to the themes below & 0 (ultural issues1values 2 The gifts of $outh 2 *omen and %ower 3 Sustainable develo%ment /ll learners must cover the "+ units , t-o supplementar' rea)ing texts -hich are supplie) in the text(oo*.s/ These reading texts and tas"s are related to the themes below & a *omen and %ower b Sustainable develo%ment /ll learners must cover the "+ units

Arts

0umanities

The s$llabus s%ecified in the Guidelines (2007) The textboo"(s) ado%ted b$ the .inistr$ of Education for the second $ear Baccalaureate The s$llabus s%ecified in the Guidelines(2007) The textboo"(s) ado%ted b$ the .inistr$ of Education for the second $ear Baccalaureate

All science1 technical an) original streams

2 TI3E A$$OCATION AND COE44ICIENT

Streams /rts 4umanities /ll science! technical and original streams Coefficient 5 6 2 Time allocation 6 hours 6 hours 2 hours

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6 E7A3 SECTIONS AND &EI80TIN8

The test consists of three sections& Reading Comprehension (37.5%)! )anguage (37.5%) and Writing (25%) The weighting designed for each section is s%ecified as follows& Stream /rts 4umanities /ll science! technical and original streams Rea)ing 05130 05130 05130 $anguage &riting 05130 00130 05130 00130 05130 00130

5 SECTIONS1 TEST TEC0NI9UES AND RUBRICS

5 " T0E READIN8 SECTION
5 " " READIN8 :ER4OR3ANCE STANDARDS

Students have to demonstrate their level of attainment in the following reading sub6 s"ills& -dentif$ main idea and details7 -dentif$ s%ecific information7 .a"e inferences7 -nfer word meaning from the context7 -dentif$ referents7 -dentif$ discourse mar"ers and their functions in the text7 8istinguish fact from o%inion7 -dentif$ the author#s attitude7 -dentif$ the author#s %ur%ose7 Transfer information from text to chart! diagram or table7 -dentif$ the logical order of ideas in the text7 Evaluate ideas ex%ressed in a text 7 8raw conclusions from the text

5 " 2 TE7T T#:ES AND TO:ICS

Texts designed for testing reading com%rehension need to be of a%%ro%riate level of difficult$! and should target stimulating issues related to the to%ics1themes mentioned in the s$llabus The$ should also relate to students# interests! age! and should ta% their %rior "nowledge and ex%erience
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'eading texts could be in the form of news%a%er articles! letters! biogra%hies! film1boo" reviews! re%orts and advertisements The$ can be narrative! informative! descri%tive! or argumentative texts
5 " 6 TE7T $EN8T0

Streams /rts 4umanities /ll science! technical and 9riginal streams

5 " 5 TEST TEC0NI9UES

Num(er of -or)s 300 6 550 250 6 350 200 6 300

The following techni:ues are designed to test various reading sub6s"ills The$ should be varied so that no %articular techni:ue would become %redictable *h6:uestions True1;alse < a%%ro%riate =ustification Sentence com%letion .ulti%le choice Summar$ clo>e Ga% filling -nformation transfer .atching 9rdering Extracting information Test techni:ues should lead to clear and reliable scoring for the sa"e of e:uit$ Three to six of the above techni:ues must a%%ear in the reading com%rehension section to guarantee a%%ro%riate coverage of the reading sub6s"ills
5 " ; DISTRIBUTION O4 BITS

The reading section should contain "+ to 2+ (its The bits should sam%le the reading sub6s"ills listed above 9ver6testing one or two reading sub6s"ills at the ex%ense of others should be avoided
5 " < RUBRICS

'ubrics are those characteristics of the test that guide the testees and inform them about the %rocedures for %erforming test tas"s The$ also inform testees about how the test will be scored 'ubrics need to be made as ex%licit and clear as %ossible
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Three to six of the rubrics below must a%%ear in the reading com%rehension section&
C0OOSE T0E BEST TIT$E 4OR T0E :ASSA8E TIC% .=/ T0E 9UESTIONS T0AT T0E :ASSA8E ANS&ERS ARE T0ESE SENTENCES TRUE OR 4A$SE> ?USTI4# ANS&ER T0ESE 9UESTIONS CO3:$ETE T0E 4O$$O&IN8 SENTENCES 4I$$ IN EAC0 B$AN% &IT0 A &ORD OR AN E7:RESSION 4RO3 T0E TE7T 4IND IN T0E TE7T &ORDS OR E7:RESSIONS T0AT 3EAN T0E SA3E AS@ &0AT DO T0E UNDER$INED &ORDS IN T0E TE7T RE4ER TO> :IC% OUT 4RO3 T0E TE7T SENTENCES OR :0RASES &0IC0 S0O& T0AT@ 3ATC0 T0E 3AIN IDEA &IT0 T0E CORRES:ONDIN8 :ARA8RA:0 :UT T0E 4O$$O&IN8 IDEASA AR8U3ENTSA SENTENCESA EBENTS IN T0E CORRECT ORDER ACCORDIN8 TO T0E TE7T &0AT IS T0E &RITERCS O:INIONA ATTITUDEA :UR:OSE > C0OOSE T0E RI80T ANS&ER 4RO3 T0E $IST 8IBEN 4I$$ IN T0E C0ART &IT0 T0E RI80T IN4OR3ATION 4RO3 T0E TE7T 3ATC0 T0E &ORD.S/ OR E7:RESSION.S/ &IT0 T0E RI80T E7:$ANATION.S/ ACCORDIN8 TO T0E TE7T &0AT $ESSON DOES T0E &RITER &ANT TO TEAC0 US>

5 " D SCORIN8

'es%onses ma$ receive + ;1 "1 or 2 points -t is im%ortant to ensure that suitable test techni:ues and rubrics are used for testing students# %erformance and for eliciting reliable scoring *hen scoring reading com%rehension! students should not be %enali>ed on grammar or s%elling mista"es 5 2 T0E $AN8UA8E SECTION -t com%rises three content areas& vocabular$! grammar and functions -t aims at assessing students# abilit$ to use language accuratel$ and a%%ro%riatel$
5 2 " DISTRIBUTION AND &EI80TIN8

BOCABU$AR# 5 points
5 2 2 BOCABU$AR#

8RA33AR D points

4UNCTIONS 5 points

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?ocabular$ test items should be related to the to%ics and themes dealt with in the s$llabus The$ should %articularl$ focus on the following areas& collocations word associations definitions of "e$ terms s$non$ms1 anton$ms %ol$6words word formation suffixes! %refixes and their meanings %hrasal verbs idiomatic ex%ressions
5 2 6 8RA33AR

Grammar test items assess students# abilit$ to recogni>e and use language accuratel$ and a%%ro%riatel$ The test items should be meaningful and contextualised The$ must be related to the following list& tenses7 wishes(%resent and %ast)! if onl$ (%ast)! and conditionals (including t$%e 2)7 re%orting commands! statements! and :uestions in the %resent and %ast7 modals& %resent and %ast7 infinitive vs gerund7 %hrasal verbs with %articular focus on the meaning of %articles 7 %assive with different tenses7 %assive with modals7 restrictive and non6restrictive clauses7 lin"ing words -tems testing vocabular$ and grammar can ta"e the form of mini6dialogues or short %rose to %rovide enough meaningful context
5 2 5 4UNCTIONS

The functions to be tested at this level are the following& 'hetorical ;unctions 8efining (ause and effect @ur%ose /ddition (ommunication ;unctions .a"ing and res%onding to re:uests 'es%onding to good and bad news Ex%ressing regret (om%laining

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 (oncession

/%ologising /s"ing for and giving advice Ex%ressing o%inion /greeing and disagreeing Ex%ressing certaint$ and uncertaint$ Ex%ressing lac" of understanding and as"ing for clarification

5 2 ; $AN8UA8E TEST TEC0NI9UES

/ variet$ of test techni:ues should be included in the test %a%er The overuse of some of these techni:ues at the ex%ense of others must be avoided tense form transformation sentence rewriting sentence com%letion ga% filling matching multi%le choice clo>e %rocedure with list or with first letter given defining "e$ terms classif$ing1categorising error correction res%onding to situations dialogue com%letion
5 2 < RUBRICS

The rubrics below are to be used when testing grammar! vocabular$ and functions :UT T0E BERBS BET&EEN BRAC%ETS IN T0E CORRECT TENSE :UT T0E BERBS BET&EEN BRAC%ETS IN T0E CORRECT 4OR3 4I$$ IN EAC0 8A: &IT0 AN A::RO:RIATE &ORD OR E7:RESSION 4RO3 T0E $IST 4I$$ IN EAC0 8A: &IT0 AN A::RO:RIATE &ORD OR E7:RESSION 4I$$ IN EAC0 8A: &IT0 AN A::RO:RIATE :0RASA$ BERB 4I$$ IN EAC0 8A: &IT0 AN A::RO:RIATE CO$$OCATION
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 3ATC0 T0E &ORDS T0AT 8O TO8ET0ER TO 3A%E A::RO:RIATE CO$$OCATIONS RE&RITE T0E SENTENCES BE8INNIN8 &IT0 T0E &ORDS 8IBEN RE&RITE T0E SENTENCES AS INDICATED 3ATC0 T0E &ORDS &IT0 T0E CORRES:ONDIN8 DE4INITIONSA S#NON#3SA ANTON#3S RE:$ACE EAC0 UNDER$INED &ORD &IT0 AN A::RO:RIATE S#NON#3 :ROBIDE T0E A::RO:RIATE &ORD.S/ 4OR T0E 4O$$O&IN8 DE4INITION.S/ 8IBE T0E CORRECT 4OR3 O4 T0E &ORDS BET&EEN BRAC%ETS ?OIN T0E :AIRS O4 SENTENCES &IT0 T0E $IN%IN8 &ORDS 8IBEN 3ATC0 EAC0 E7:RESSION &IT0 ITS A::RORIATE 4UNCTION &0AT DOES EAC0 SENTENCE E7:RESS> C0OOSE T0E BEST ANS&ER CO3:$ETE T0E 4O$$O&IN8 DIA$O8UE.S/ A::RO:RIAT$# CORRECT T0E UNDER$INED 3ISTA%E.S/ &RITE AN A::RO:RIATE RES:ONSE TO T0E 4O$$O&IN8 SITUATION.S/ 3ATC0 T0E E7C0AN8E.S/ &IT0 T0E A::RO:RIATE 4UNCTION.S/ :UT T0E 4O$$O&IN8 E7C0AN8ES IN T0E CORRECT ORDER
5 2 D DISTRIBUTION O4 BITS

The language section must contain "+ to 2+ (its The bits must sam%le the language components .grammar! vocabular$ and functions/ included in the s$llabus A minimum of fi!e ru(rics must a%%ear in the language section 5 2 E SCORIN8 'es%onses ma$ receive + ; or " %oint 5 6 T0E &RITIN8 SECTION
5 6 " &RITIN8 SUBFS%I$$S

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The writing section assesses students# writing s"ills and %rovides an indication of how well the$ communicate in the written language Testers can determine learners# achievement in writing through a%%ro%riate tas"s! bearing in mind the sub6s"ills as stated in the s$llabus and guidelines& using ade:uate and relevant content7 using an a%%ro%riate text structure according to the targeted format 7 selecting an a%%ro%riate st$le according to audience7 using cohesive devices and transitions to organi>e their writing7 using mechanics (s%elling! %unctuation! ca%itali>ation) a%%ro%riatel$7 a%%l$ing the a%%ro%riate structures and vocabular$ to get the message across7 using a variet$ of sentence structures& sim%le and com%lex sentences The following table shows different format1genres and t$%es of writing to be tested& ;ormat1Genre of *riting formal1 informal letters film review articles e6mail re%ort T$%es of *riting narrative descri%tive cause and effect describing a %rocess com%arison and contrast argumentative

To%ics designed for testing writing should be bias6free and should target stimulating issues related to the themes dealt with in the s$llabus ;ormulating the to%ic should include a S-TA/T-9B to %rovide a context and T/SCS that clearl$ s%ecif$ the format! the audience! the %ur%ose and t$%e of writing /dditional %rom%ts can be %rovided to hel% students
5 6 2 T0E &RITIN8 :RODUCTION $EN8T0

The writing tas" must s%ecif$ the number of words as indicated in the table below& Arts /%%roximatel$ 200 words 0umanities /%%roximatel$ 250 words All science1 technical an) original streams /%%roximatel$ 200 words

5 6 6 SCORIN8 AND CRITERIA

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(riteria for scoring must be s%ecified in the mar"ing scale The mar" is based on the overall use and a%%ro%riateness of the language! the range of vocabular$! writing structure! correctness of grammar! mechanics! and a%%ro%riateness of content to the tas"s The scoring method is anal$tical and includes the following elements 6 onl' -hen the -riting is rele!ant to the topic& Scoring criteria 'elevance of content to the tas"s @aragra%h and com%osition organisation /%%ro%riateness and variet$ of vocabular$ /ccurac$ of grammar .echanics (S%elling! %unctuation! ca%itali>ation) Scores (6 pts) .2 pts/ .2 pts/ .2 pts/ ." pts/

Scorers should reduce the overall mar" if the writing is too short to res%ond to the number of words recommended above (3 2 2) ; 8ENERA$ NOTES Rea)ing section@ Duestions must a%%ear in textual or)er within the rubrics The reading tas*s must aim at testing com%rehension and not recognition %er se ;or lexical inference! there must be an indication of the relevant %aragra%h The *e' ans-er must be %rovided $anguage section@ Items testing grammar must include affirmative! negative and interrogative forms The *e' ans-er an) mar*ing scale must be %rovided Range of )ifficult'@ The test %a%er must include eas$ as well as challenging items to ensure discrimination Starting an English %a%er with easier :uestions will boost u% students# motivation and hel% them %erform better Items in each section must be rece%tive and %roductive 8apFfilling items tested rece%tivel$ must have the following number of alternatives& 6 0 ga%& 2 alternatives 6 2 ga%s& 5 alternatives
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2 ga%s& E alternatives

N B 4or more )etails a(out assessment1 see the pe)agogical gui)elines .2++D/

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