AQA response to Ofqual GCSE consultation on the Assessment of Practical Work in GCSE Science - 04 February 2015

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by Finn

AQA provides an official response to Ofqual’s 2014 consultation on assessing practical work in GCSE Science, including respondent identity, confidentiality choices, and the organisation’s capacity and nation. AQA supports allocating marks to practical experience, arguing it will encourage more practical delivery similar to positive A-level teacher feedback. It also supports separating practical opportunities from direct assessment where controlled assessment constraints can reduce authenticity and increase pressure on teachers and pupils.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

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Pages13

Reading Time33 min

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Question 1a

Question 1b

Question 1c

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AQA response to Ofqual GCSE consultation on the Assessment of Practical Work in GCSE Science 04 February 2015 Your details To evaluate responses properly, we need to know who is responding to the consultation and in what capacity. We will therefore only consider your response if you complete the following information section. We will publish our evaluation of responses. Please note that we may publish all or part of your response unless you tell us (in your answer to the confidentiality question) that you want us to treat your response as confidential. If you tell us you wish your response to be treated as confidential, we will not include your details in any published list of respondents, although we may quote from your response anonymously. Please answer all questions marked with a star* Name* Roy Strachan Position* Head of Chief Executive’s Office Organisation name (if applicable)* AQA Address Email [rstrachan@aqa.org.uk](rstrachan@aqa.org.uk) Telephone 01483 47 7917 Would you like us to treat your response as confidential?* If you answer yes, we will not include your details in any list of people or organisations that responded to the consultation. ( ) Yes (X) No Is this a personal response or an official response on behalf of your organisation?* ( ) Personal response (Please answer the question ‘If you ticked ‘personal views’ …’) (X) Official response (Please answer the question ‘Type of responding organisation’) If you ticked ‘Personal views’which of the following are you? ( ) Student ( ) Parent or carer ( ) Teacher (but responding in a personal capacity) ( ) Other, including general public (Please state below) If you ticked “Official response from an organisation/group”, please respond accordingly: Type of responding organisation* (X) Awarding organisation ( ) Local authority ( ) School or college (please answer the question below) ( ) Academy chain ( ) Private training provider ( ) University or other higher education institution ( ) Employer ( ) Other representative or interest group (please answer the question below) School or college type ( ) Comprehensive or non-selective academy ( ) State selective or selective academy ( ) Independent ( ) Special school ( ) Further education college ( ) Sixth form college ( ) Other (please state below) Type of representative group or interest group ( ) Group of awarding organisations ( ) Union ( ) Employer or business representative group ( ) Subject association or learned society ( ) Equality organisation or group ( ) School, college or teacher representative group ( ) Other (please state below) Nation* (X) England ( ) Wales ( ) Northern Ireland ( ) Scotland ( ) Other EU country: ( ) Non-EU country: Consultation on the Assessment of Practical Work in GCSE Science Ofqual 2014 34 How did you find out about this consultation? ( ) Our newsletter or another one of our communications (X) Our website ( ) Internet search ( ) Other May we contact you for further information? (X) Yes ( ) No Questions Question 1: In relation to our proposed model (page 5 and pages 23 to 29 of the consultation) how far do you agree with each of the following statements? Please give reasons for your answers. 1a: GCSE science students will be given appropriate opportunities to complete a range of practical work if exam questions reward those who can draw on their practical experiences. (X) Strongly agree ( ) Agree ( ) Neither agree nor disagree ( ) Disagree ( ) Strongly disagree Please give reasons for your answer We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from A-level teachers across the country ata wide range of face-to-face events who state that they will do more practical work if the required practicals are specified in the syllabus and rewarded in the question papers. We strongly believe the proposals for GCSE will have a similar response. 1b: At least

FAQs

Who is providing the response and in what capacity?

Roy Strachan, Head of Chief Executive’s Office, responding officially on behalf of AQA.

Does AQA support rewarding practical experience in GCSE Science exams?

Yes. AQA strongly agrees that exam rewards should draw on students’ practical experiences and states it expects a similar positive response to proposals as seen for A-level.

Why does AQA support focusing on teaching and learning rather than assessing some practical work?

AQA argues controlled assessment focus distorts practical activities, making them feel like hoop-jumping rather than authentic learning. Removing constraints is expected to free time for purposeful teaching and reduce pressure on staff and students.

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by Finn