Competency-based holistic grading: understand the requirement
- Specification focus. No marks will be assigned to a student’s performance – it will be assessed holistically as a grade, using a ‘competency’ basis on criteria which are provided below. Competency means that a student must hit all the criteria in one grade before moving on to the next. Students who do not reach the Pass standard must be recorded as Not Classified.
- What success looks like. The response demonstrates the named skill accurately and purposefully. Relevant evidence, developed reasoning and controlled communication matter more than memorised labels or formulas.
Key Idea
- Turn the specification wording into an action that can be demonstrated with an unfamiliar text or task.
Competency-based holistic grading: a reliable method
- Clarify the requirement. Restate the specification point as a practical action and identify evidence that demonstrates success.
- Choose a fitting strategy. Select reading, writing or speaking processes that match the task rather than one universal formula.
- Practise with variation. Apply the skill to unfamiliar texts, genres, situations and audiences.
- Review precisely. Identify one exact strength and one exact improvement using the specification wording.
Competency-based holistic grading: application and improvement
- Worked thinking. Apply the requirement to a fresh task, record the decisions made and explain why each decision improves the response.
- Diagnose and revise. Name the exact weakness, such as unsupported inference, thin development, weak organisation, unsuitable register or inaccurate expression, then revise that feature specifically.
Exam technique
- For Oxford AQA International GCSE English Language 9270, follow the exact paper instructions and stepped question sequence. Use source boundaries carefully and reserve time to check relevance and technical accuracy.
Common Mistake
- Avoid generic effects and universal paragraph formulas. Every explanation or crafted choice must fit the text, task, purpose and audience.
Self review
- Can I explain competency-based holistic grading in my own words?
- Can I apply the four-step method to an unfamiliar task?
- Have I used precise evidence or deliberate crafted choices?
- Can I identify and correct one likely weakness?
