Summer 2023 NEA: Cambridge National in Enterprise and Marketing (J819 and J837)
05 April 2023
Debbie Malpas and Sarah Phillips, Business and Economics Subject Advisors
Here at OCR, we’ve received lots of queries from centres in recent weeks about marking coursework, or non-examined assessment (NEA). For the Cambridge National in Enterprise and Marketing, this means R065 and R066 for J819, and R068 and R069 for J837.
There have been questions about how to apply the marking criteria. We’ve also had questions about administrative requirements, and most particularly about whether any allowances should be made when marking for any abnormal and difficult circumstances many students have had to contend with while completing their assignments.
Regarding that last point, last summer the JCQ (Joint Council for Qualifications) released guidance, which makes it clear that all NEA work must be marked in the same way as before the pandemic disruption. This is really important as it will help ensure that all students’ work is marked to the same standards.
In the light of that JCQ announcement, and the queries we’ve been receiving from you, we thought it would be helpful to provide a quick summary of the support available to ensure that you are marking to the correct standard:
Guides to applying the marking criteria
- A free on-line marking course is available on OCR Train. This can be completed in your own time and includes a series of tests designed to ensure that you are correctly allocating levels to pieces of work.
- On Teach Cambridge, for the legacy specification (J819) we have candidate exemplars with the moderator’s commentary for all units, which could help you to understand and improve internal assessment of the NEA marking. For the redeveloped qualification (J837), we have candidate style work for all units which will offer an insight into how the marking criteria are applied.
- A moderators’ report is produced after every summer session. This offers constructive feedback on centres’ assessment of moderated work, based on what has been observed by our moderation team. As there is no moderator report from the January session for J837, we have produced a blog giving feedback from the R068 ‘Baslow Bags’ moderation with helpful tips and guidance from the January moderation.
- Each year we run CPD sessions which include exemplar scripts as well as advice and guidance. You can access materials from past CPD events on the Past training events section of Teach Cambridge.
- You can book upcoming events focusing on the internally assessed units via Teach Cambridge or our main website CPD events page.
Assessment structure – J837
The assessment of NEA unit R068 must be completed in the same year that an assignment is live. There will be two opportunities to submit, in January and May. Students can submit and re-submit in the same year on the same assignment. However, if a student would like to resubmit after the May deadline, they will need to submit on the new live assignment that will be released on 1 June each year.
Administrative points to remember
Information on NEA administration generally is available on our website.
For the Cambridge National in Enterprise and Marketing, please remember to have completed the following points to ensure you are ready for moderation:
Avoiding malpractice is still important: remember that this year you aren’t providing any additional support or marking more leniently. The package of student support means that the reduction in assessment will take into consideration the circumstances students have faced. Further details are available in our FAQs.
General support
The following resources will help you and your students understand and follow the requirements and process involved for Cambridge Nationals qualifications:
- A classroom poster for students to understand how to reference work and avoid plagiarism. You can download this from the assessment section of the qualification webpage.
- A video presentation on how to complete the URS for the Cambridge Nationals Information Technologies internally assessed unit. A URS for all NEA units (R065, R066, R068 and R069) can be downloaded from the relevant subject page on Teach Cambridge.
- A resource on effective assessment practices provides further help and support on generating and submitting students’ work for moderation.
- Finally, do refer back to the reports on R065 and R066 which are published after each series, and which often include pointers on internal assessment marking. You can access these in the Assessment section of the Teach Cambridge subject page for J819.
Stay connected
If you have any questions, you can email us at support@ocr.org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or tweet us @OCR_BusEcon You can also sign up to subject updates and receive information about resources and support.
About the authors
Debbie joined OCR in August 2014. She worked on the redevelopment of OCR’s GCSE Business (J204) and the new refreshed Cambridge National in Enterprise and Marketing (J837). She also supports teachers through the development of a variety of resources, the CPD programme and subject communications.
Before joining OCR, Debbie spent over 20 years in teaching and leadership roles. She worked in secondary schools, a sixth form college and international school in Shropshire and Cambridge. Debbie holds a degree in Business Operations and a PGCE in Secondary Economics & Business. In her spare time, Debbie enjoys visiting family in the Midlands and Bristol. She also writes for Cambridge University Press.
Sarah joined the Business and Economics team in September 2022. She has over 20 years’ experience as a teacher of Business, Economics and Finance and in leadership roles including Head of Department, Head of Sixth Form and Assistant Principal. She has been an assessor for A Level Economics and holds a degree in Business Economics and the RSA Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA).
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