CSEC English School-Based Assessment
(SBA) Outlined
Paper 031, School-Based Assessment – (SBA – 21% of Total Assessment)
One SBA will be required to complete both aspects of the English Syllabus: English
A and English B.
A student who does English A only OR English B only OR English A and B will be
required to submit ONLY one SBA. The SBA will be credited for both English A and
B.
The SBA is expected to be done by each student working as an individual, and as a
member of a small group approved by the teacher where:
1. individual refers to each student, who has responsibility for his/her own portfolio;
2. group refers to 4 – 5 students sharing a general topic, who work together to
discuss and solve problems, explain ideas, learn from peers, improve oral skills, and
practise social skills and leadership roles.
The marks assigned to a student will consist of:
1. his/her individual mark (Plan of Investigation, Oral Presentation, Reflections,
Participation Measure);
2. the mark assigned to the group (Quality of Group Behaviour, Written Report).
SBA English Outline
PORTFOLIO
Each student will create a Portfolio on an issue/topic/theme/event selected by the
students in the group and approved by the teacher. The issue/topic/theme/event will
also be orally presented. The issue/topic/theme/event selected should allow for
meaningful research and presentation.
The Portfolio should include the following:
1. PLAN OF INVESTIGATION:
An introduction to the issue/topic/theme/event (A satisfactory response should be no
more than 100 words).
(a) Why did you choose this issue/topic/theme/event?
(b) What are the expected benefits to you as a student of English?
(c) How do you intend to collect relevant information on your issue/topic/theme/event
and use this in your presentation?
2. PARTICIPATION MEASURE – A measure of the candidate’s individual
participation assessed by self and teacher.
3. INDICATORS OF GROUP ACTIVITY (Sources/Materials)
A minimum of THREE pieces of material, for example, print, audio, visual media
must be collected and presented in the Portfolio and should address the
issue/topic/theme/event selected.
One of the three pieces must be printed.
These pieces will form the basis for the process of enquiry and group work activities
(cognitive, psychomotor, affective) in which students will become aware of and
practise English language skills.
4. REFLECTION :
THREE entries in which the student reflects on the issue/topic/ theme/ event
selected should be completed.
In the first entry, the student must indicate how each piece of material helped to
shape his or her thinking about the issue/topic/ theme/event.
The second entry should discuss the use of language in the material selected and
the third entry should state how the process of doing the SBA helped the student to
become a better person.
The reflection should be written in class under the teacher’s supervision.
5. WRITTEN REPORT:
A written report of the investigation should be a summary of the processes,
procedures and outcomes of the research.
It should include the material collected, reasons for selection and analysis of the
material.
A satisfactory report should be about 250-300 words in total.
6. ORAL PRESENTATION:
A personal response related to the issue/topic/ theme/ event should be delivered
orally in 3 to 5 minutes.
The oral presentation should be delivered predominately in standard English and in a
genre of the student’s choosing, for example, drama, poetry, prose, role play,
speech, argument, or exposition.
The student should deliver a brief overview of the presentation including the genre
chosen, the sources used and a comment on the kind of language used.
A brief plan of the Oral Presentation must be submitted in the Portfolio.
