This restored publication describes the 2019 specification for Grade 10 English in the social-humanitarian direction. The document explains what a term assessment measures, how the paper is structured, how speaking is organised and how teachers apply a common mark scheme. It should be treated as a documented assessment model: a school must compare it with the programme and local assessment requirements currently in force before using it.
Purpose and assessed skills
The assessment is designed to show how successfully learners have achieved the term’s learning objectives. It covers four communicative strands — listening, speaking, reading and writing — together with the language resources needed to complete the tasks. The specification combines comprehension with application and higher-order thinking: learners identify information, infer meaning, recognise viewpoints, organise ideas and justify their own position.
- Listening: main ideas, specific information, detail, speaker attitude and meaning inferred from context.
- Speaking: an individual response or dialogue using relevant vocabulary, interaction strategies and an appropriate degree of formality.
- Reading: main points, details, text organisation, writer attitude and supported inference.
- Writing: content, organisation, genre, register, vocabulary, grammatical control, spelling and editing.
- Use of English: grammar and lexis demonstrated through meaningful listening, speaking, reading and writing tasks.
Assessment overview by term
In the 2019 specification, each term paper allows 40 minutes for listening, reading and writing. The speaking task is conducted separately. Each term carries 24 marks in total.
| Term | Units | Listening and reading | Writing and speaking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Legend or Truth?; Controversial Issues | Listening matching; reading true/false | Article; individual speech |
| 2 | Virtual Reality; Out of this World | Open-ended and gap-filling listening; reading matching | Review; dialogue |
| 3 | Imagination and Creativity; Stress and Fear; Reading for Pleasure | Listening table completion; reading reordering and true/false | Extended written response; dialogue |
| 4 | Different Ways of Living; Independent Project | Multiple-choice and sentence-completion listening; reading yes/no/not given | Opinion essay; monologue |
Timing and marks
| Component | Time in the written session | Marks | Organisation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | 10 minutes | 6 | Learners listen to the recording according to the task instructions |
| Reading | 10 minutes | 6 | Individual work with one extended text or a set of related texts |
| Writing | 20 minutes | 6 | One extended response in the genre stated for the term |
| Speaking | Conducted separately | 6 | Individual speech, monologue or pair dialogue depending on the term |
| Total | 40 minutes, excluding speaking | 24 | One common mark scheme is used |
How to read the assessment blueprint
The characteristic table for each term links six elements. Reading across one row shows why a task is present and what evidence it should produce:
- Unit: the curricular context used for the text or prompt.
- Strand: listening, speaking, reading or writing.
- Learning objective: the precise skill selected from the programme.
- Question type: matching, multiple choice, completion, extended response or another stated format.
- Task description: what learners read, hear, discuss or produce.
- Time and marks: the weight assigned to the evidence.
A question format is not a learning objective by itself. For example, a true/false task can assess detail, but it only provides useful evidence when the statements require learners to interpret the source text rather than rely on general knowledge.
Administration rules
- Remove or cover classroom displays that could provide answers or language prompts.
- Read the instructions and state the duration before the assessment begins.
- Check that learners understand the procedure without paraphrasing content in a way that reveals an answer.
- Ensure individual work and remove access to unapproved resources, including dictionaries unless the specification explicitly allows them.
- Answer questions about instructions and timing only; do not spell words or supply task-specific information.
- Give a five-minute warning and end the session consistently for the whole class.
- Prepare the listening equipment, audio file and a backup playback method in advance.
Speaking component
Speaking is assessed outside the 40-minute written session. Depending on the term, learners complete an individual speech, monologue or dialogue. The task card should state the topic and provide enough planning guidance without scripting the answer. The assessor records evidence for content, interaction where relevant, vocabulary, grammar, fluency and register according to the mark scheme.
Consistent conditions matter. Learners should receive the same preparation time, equivalent prompts and an equal opportunity to complete their response. In pair work, marks must reflect each learner’s contribution rather than the performance of the pair as a whole.
Moderation and marking
All teachers assessing the same paper use the same version of the mark scheme. Before final marks are confirmed, the team compares a small range of learner responses, discusses borderline evidence and checks whether the criteria are being interpreted consistently. The purpose of moderation is not to make every response look identical; it is to apply the same standard to different valid answers.
- Select samples representing stronger, middle and developing performance.
- Mark the samples independently using the published scheme.
- Compare decisions and identify criteria that produced different judgements.
- Agree how acceptable alternatives and partially correct responses will be treated.
- Recheck affected papers and retain annotated samples for internal reference.
Teacher preparation checklist
- The correct term and social-humanitarian Grade 10 version have been selected.
- The learning objectives match the school’s working programme.
- The written paper totals 24 marks and the time allocation is clear.
- The speaking schedule, cards and recording sheet are ready.
- The listening file has been tested in the assessment room.
- All learners receive legible copies with complete instructions.
- The mark scheme has been reviewed before marking starts.
- A moderation sample and responsible teachers have been identified.
The specification is most useful as a transparent map between learning objectives and assessment evidence. It helps teachers see not only which tasks appear in a term paper, but also why each task is included, how much weight it carries and how comparable marking is maintained.
