How do I assess candidates for the Practical Endorsement?

How do I assess candidates for the Practical Endorsement?

Achievement is not automatic on completing activities and some assessments will need to be made during the practical activity. It is expected that candidates will show progression in their skill acquisition over the two-year course, so not achieving skills in earlier practical work is not a problem.

Some skills are assessed very frequently during the course of the Practical Endorsement (for example, following written instructions). You don’t need to assess every skill on every occasion, and it can be beneficial to concentrate on fewer skills, particularly if they are skills that candidates have less opportunity to practice. The tracker should be adjusted to reflect the skills that are being assessed. This can help with judgement of competence in larger classes.

Can candidates demonstrate competence in practical skills when working in groups? 

Whenever possible candidates should work individually. However, if it is necessary for candidates to work in groups, for example as a result of limited of equipment, all candidates must make and record observations. All members of the group must be actively involved and have the opportunity to carry out all the required techniques and use all the apparatus. Groups should be changed regularly during the course, and should be as small as possible, ideally no more than pairs.

Do the students have to keep a lab book? 

No, the format of the student record is not prescribed. It may be a lab book, but could also be a folder or ring binder to collect loose pages, or a collection of records stored digitally. They do not have to be ‘perfect’ lab books – they should be a record of on-going lab work. 

Must each student keep a separate, individual record? 

Yes, each student must keep a contemporaneous record of their practical work, and it must be their personal record. 

Do I have to mark students’ work? 

No, there is no requirement for students’ work to be marked, and there are no mark schemes for the PAG activities provided by Cambridge OCR. Teachers may wish to mark students’ work in the context of providing feedback, or to comply with the centre’s own marking policies. That is fine, but it is a centre decision to do so. 

Can candidates make corrections to written work to achieve skills? 

Skills should only be assessed as having been achieved when the candidate is able to demonstrate competence independently by meeting the standards as specified in Appendix 3 of the Practical Skills Handbooks. This will not have been demonstrated if the required standard is only met as a result of being directed towards the required corrections. This would be helpful in supporting skill development but, if a candidate has not met the standard, they will need to be provided with another opportunity to demonstrate competence in that skill area.

If a candidate has fully completed the practical activity and handed in all extension questions, does this automatically mean full achievement? 

In most cases, the extension questions are designed to support candidates towards preparing for the practical questions which appear on the final examination. They do not ‘count’ towards the assessment of the practical skills and should be ignored when entering achievement on the PAG tracker. The achievement on the PAG tracker should reflect only their practical skills during the practical session and associated work such as data presentation and processing.

When can a candidate be deemed as having demonstrated competence and so be assessed as having achieved a skill?

Candidates can only be assessed as having achieved a skill during a practical activity if their work fully meets the standards as specified in the Appendix 3 of the Practical Skills Handbook.

Will I have to repeat the practical activity with each student who was absent on the day it took place? 

If a student misses a practical activity through absence then there is no requirement for that activity to be repeated if there are sufficient opportunities in the two-year course for the student to display some of the required skills (and have experience of the apparatus and techniques). However if near the end of the two-year course you feel that there are students who have not achieved all the competencies as required by the assessment criteria (CPAC), then you can arrange a mutually convenient time to allow that student to display appropriate skills (and experience apparatus and techniques). 

How do I measure the students’ level of competence? 

The Teacher must be confident in the ability of their students to successfully complete a practical activity and meet the minimum requirements as stated in the Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC). The Cambridge OCR practical activities are already mapped to the appropriate skills, techniques and apparatus and hence allow teachers to easily identify students who are routinely and consistently displaying them skills. This is easily achieved through the use of the Cambridge OCR PAG tracker to log student activities. 

Appendix 3 to appendix 6 of the practical skills handbook for each Science includes suggestions about how this process of skills development can be managed. They provide guidance which teachers can use to assist how they teach the required skills, as well as things to look out for in assessing whether students are performing the skills competently. However, they are not intended as a ‘mark scheme’, or statement of the minimum standard required for a pass in individual activities. 

CPAC pen portraits are available on Teach Cambridge, along with the document “Identifying the CPAC from the Practical Skills Statements”.

Where can I find exemplars/templates for the student records? 

The skills involved in developing the student record form part of the assessment of the Practical Endorsement, through CPAC4. For this reason, Cambridge OCR does not provide exemplars or templates. 

Do I have to use the Cambridge OCR activity tracker (Cambridge OCR PAG tracker)? 

No, there is no requirement for centres to use the Cambridge OCR activity tracker however this free resource is provided to simplify record keeping for teachers and reduce the administrative load. The Flex and Fixed trackers come in three sizes (30 students, 100 students and 400 students) and we suggest using the smallest size that meets your individual need. For example, if you have a large group the speed advantages of keeping separate trackers for each teaching group may be more useful than holding the records of all 150 students in one tracker. 

• The fixed PAG tracker allows you to add mapping for an additional 12 activities, while the flexible activity tracker allows you to amend the mapping of the 36 Cambridge OCR exemplar activities or add up to 84 centre-designed or third party activities. Another advantage of the flexible PAG tracker is that by selecting activities in the order they are carried out by students it can be used to monitor progression and more easily identify gaps in individual student competence demonstrated.  
• The portable tracker is designed to work in multiple formats including Excel and Google Sheets. Even when a large amount of student data is entered, the tracker will run smoothly on most devices. 

Can I have the password to unlock and modify the Cambridge OCR Practical Endorsement tracker? 

The portable tracker is not password protected. This version of the tracker can be adapted by you as required but please note that we cannot provide technical support if you choose to edit this tracker. Instructions on how to use the Portable PAG tracker can be found here.  

We do not provide unlocked versions of the fixed or flex Cambridge OCR PAG trackers, nor do we provide the unlock password to teachers. When the tracker is unlocked there is a significant risk of accidentally removing a link, function or reference and thereby removing students’ records of competence. If you contact the Cambridge OCR Science team by email at science@ocr.org.uk we can provide support to help you resolve issues using the fixed or flex Cambridge OCR PAG trackers. 

Can I use a third-party tracker or my own spreadsheet? 

Yes, if you have switched to Cambridge OCR from another exam board or are using third party activities (such as OUP Kerboodle), there is no requirement to use the Cambridge OCR PAG tracker. If you do choose to change to using the Cambridge OCR PAG tracker part way through the two-year course you need to retain the old tracker and add a ‘carry over’ activity as the first activity in the Cambridge OCR flexible tracker and tick off all the criteria statements that have already been demonstrated by each student on their record, which will allow you to see which competencies remain to be demonstrated. 

You should note that some third-party trackers do not keep a record of the practical skills and the apparatus and techniques specified in the DfE subject criteria. If you are using such a tracker (or your own spreadsheet does not record this information) then you will have to keep an additional paper or electronic record for each student recoding their competence against the criteria in module 1.2.2 of the specification.