[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-620932-105":59,"doc-detail-620932-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","assessing-practical-skills-in-gcse-science","Assessing practical skills in GCSE Science","","Training material explaining how practical skills are assessed in GCSE Science, focusing on practical questions and their role within the assessment structure. It outlines apparatus and techniques (ATs), required practicals (RPs) that deliver those ATs, and how working scientifically (WS) is assessed across demand levels. It describes how question types and assessment objectives (AOs) overlap, then gives 2024 examples from biology, chemistry, and physics, including discussion prompts, mark rationales, and assessment variety.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":20,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/assessing-practical-skills-in-gcse-science/620932/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/assessing-practical-skills-in-gcse-science/620932.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Jordan Avery","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation","2026-10-29","2026-10-20",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":24},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What components make up the assessment of practical work in GCSE Science?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Assessment of practical skills in GCSE Science uses three components: apparatus and techniques (set by the DfE), required practicals that deliver the ATs, and working scientifically (WS). These are assessed across all levels of demand.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How do practical questions link to the assessment objectives (AOs)?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Any question can cover more than one AO, assessing both content and practical skills (and maths skills where relevant). As a result, few questions focus only on a required practical; whole questions often combine different aspects.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What challenges do students face with practical questions?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Common challenges include disciplinary language issues (accuracy and precision, variables, controls, resolution) and errors that lead to invalid outcomes. The material also highlights problems with method validity, anomalous results, and opportunities for improvement such as measuring equipment accuracy and repeat ranges.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},620932,1792894228,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":19,"category_name":20,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":24,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},1099523882367,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Assessing practical skills in GCSE Science\nLisa Mooney\n9 January 2025\nScan here to download today’s materials\nPractical questions in the exams:\nWhat kinds of questions are asked to assess students’ understanding of practical work?\nWhat are the most common challenges students encounter with practical questions?\nDesigning effective practical lessons:\nTaking a holistic approach\nPlanning\nModelling the approach\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n2\nWhat this session is about\nApparatus and techniques criteria (ATs): list of apparatus students need to be able to use or techniques they need to be able to carry out.\nRequired practicals (RPs) which cover all the ATs. These are used to assess the ATs assigned to a particular RP.\nWorking scientifically (WS) is assessed through practical questions.\nFor each specification, 15% of the marks will cover different aspects of practical work through the RPs.\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n3\nOfqual requirements for assessment of practical work\nAssessment of practical skills in GCSE Science consists of three components:\nApparatus and techniques (set by the DfE)\nRequired practicals (designed to deliver the ATs)\nWorking scientifically\nThese components are assessed at all levels of demand, using our full range of question types, across all three assessment objectives (AOs).\nAny question will often cover more than one AO and will assess content as well as practical skills and maths skills.\nSo, few questions focus solely on a required practical; rather, whole questions assess a number of different aspects.\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n4\nHow practical skills are assessed\nExamples from 2024\n5\nBiology\nExample 1: B2, Questions 1.4, 1.5 [H]/Questions 5.4, 5.5 [F]\nDiscussion point 1 (page 19)\nWhat do you think the barriers were to success here?\nDiscussion point 2\nHow many marks would these responses gain?\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n6\n1 mark as no reference to population size.\n0 marks as there’s no correct description of how to use the tape measure or placement of the quadrat.\nChemistry\nExample 2: C2, Question 2.1 [H]/ Question 7.1 [F]\nDiscussion point 1 (page 21)\nWhich AOs do you think are being assessed here? What is a valid method?\nDiscussion point 2\nHow many marks would this response gain?\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n7\n4 marks awarded.\nThe student hasn’t achieved Level 3 as they haven’t identified the period of time/volume of gas. The mass of calcium carbonate hasn’t been controlled.\nPhysics\nExample 3: P2, Question 1.1 [H]/Question 6.1 [F]\nDiscussion point 1 (page 24)\nWhat approaches do you take to teach students to apply their learning to other contexts?\nDiscussion point 2\nHow many marks would this response gain?\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n8\n0 marks as the method would not lead to valid outcome.\nThe variety of practical assessment\n9\nAll areas of the specification – content, maths, WS, ATs.\nThe method of a required practical.\nA method for something that isn’t a required practical but covers the content in the specification.\nPractical context that isn’t a required practical.\nQuestions in a practical context but with no questions about practical – all about knowledge from the specification.\nDifferent levels of demand using the same source materials.\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n10\nThe variety of assessment in a practical context\nBreadth of skills\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n11\nExample 4: 2022, C2 [H]Discussion points:Can you identify:\nthe ATs being assessed\nthe maths skills\nWS area\nwhich AOs?\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n12\nExtended response: Plan a method\nExtended response: Plan a method\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n13\nPracticals in a context not required practical\nCopyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.\n14\nChallenges\n15\nDiscipli","cbCaih306eYK0WeA","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaih306eYK0WeA","pptx",6765772,28,"English","# What this session is about\n## Apparatus and techniques criteria (ATs)\n## Required practicals (RPs)\n## Working scientifically (WS)\n# Ofqual requirements for assessment of practical work\n## Three assessment components\n# How practical skills are assessed\n## Examples from 2024\n### Biology examples\n### Chemistry examples\n### Physics examples\n## The variety of practical assessment\n## Challenges in practical questions\n# Effective practical lessons","[{\"question\":\"What components make up the assessment of practical work in GCSE Science?\",\"answer\":\"Assessment of practical skills in GCSE Science uses three components: apparatus and techniques (set by the DfE), required practicals that deliver the ATs, and working scientifically (WS). These are assessed across all levels of demand.\"},{\"question\":\"How do practical questions link to the assessment objectives (AOs)?\",\"answer\":\"Any question can cover more than one AO, assessing both content and practical skills (and maths skills where relevant). As a result, few questions focus only on a required practical; whole questions often combine different aspects.\"},{\"question\":\"What challenges do students face with practical questions?\",\"answer\":\"Common challenges include disciplinary language issues (accuracy and precision, variables, controls, resolution) and errors that lead to invalid outcomes. The material also highlights problems with method validity, anomalous results, and opportunities for improvement such as measuring equipment accuracy and repeat ranges.\"}]","Assessing practical skills in GCSE Science | PPTX",1792464768,71]