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A/AS level Chemistry TAS

Workshop for Teachers

22 October 2005

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Teacher Assessment Scheme

Practical paper of the A/AS level Chemistry Examination

20% of the subject mark Compulsory to all school candidates

(including first-timers and repeaters)

Private candidates : either (i) use previous TAS result , or (ii) take practical exam

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TAS allows: better link bet’n theory and practical work students to experience a wider range of

experimentation the assessment of a full range of practical

abilities a reduction in examination pressure teachers to provide frequent feedback to

students an increase in teachers’ professionalism

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Information about TAS: Refer to Handbook on the A/AS Chemistry

Teacher Assessment Scheme HKEAA website: www.hkeaa.edu.hk

Enquiry: 28343211 Ext 668

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Requirements of TAS Enough bench space and apparatus per

candidate

Lab work should cover different areas and types of experiment

Area : CH, EQ, KI & EN

Type: P, QL and QN

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Requirements of TAS(cont’d) Ability area A

Ability area B

Ability area C

Manipulative skills, skill in observation and general bench performance

Presentation of data, interpretation of results, planning of experiments and project work

attitude towards practical chemistry

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Starting from 2007 Examination Minimum number of experiments:

[2007 TAS handbook: P.5---3.3--- (b)]A-level: S6: (2007: 15) (2006: 18)

S7: (2007: 8) (2006: 10)Over two years, at least 7 expts should be assessed.

AS-level: Over two years: (2007: 13) (2006: 16)

A/AS-level: over two years, at least:2 preparative5 qualitative5 quantitative

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Assessment Requirement:[2007 TAS handbook: P.6--- (d)]

A-level

Ability area

No. of Assessed Marks Required

S6 S7 Over the two-year

A 2 1 2

4 5 

10 

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B 2 1 2

4 5( 4 5 detailed reports

)C 1 1 2

Starting from 2007 Examination

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Starting from 2007 Examination Assessment Requirement:

[2007 TAS handbook: P.6--- (d)]AS-level

Ability area

No. of Assessed Marks Required

S6 S7 Over the two-year

A 1 1 2  

7B 1 1 2 ( 3 detailed reports)

C --- 1 1

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Starting from 2007 Examination Assessment Requirement

S7 repeater/transfer candidate :[2007 TAS handbook: P.6--- (e)]

A-level

Ability area

No. of Assessed Marks Required in S7

A 2007: 3 (2006: 4 )

B 2007: 3 (2006: 4 )( 2 detailed reports)

C 1

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Starting from 2007 Examination Assessment Requirement

S7 repeater/transfer candidate :[2007 TAS handbook: P.6--- (e)]

AS-level

Ability area

No. of Assessed Marks Required in S7

A 2

B 2( 1 detailed report)

C 1

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Making assessments Assess each student sufficiently on each

ability.

Not necessary to assess all students on the same day and on the same experiment.

Assess as unobtrusively as possible.

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Making assessments (cont’d) Assess on a 10-point scale:

10-9 very good

8-7 good

6-5 average

4-3 weak

2-1 very weak

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Making assessments (cont’d)3 ways for allocation of marks:

(i) Mark Scheme

(ii) Impression

(iii) Overall impression over a longer period of time, for a particular area e.g. area C

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Project work in TAS Not compulsory Involve practical work and experimental

investigation Include:

designing experiment performing the investigation writing the report

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Project work in TAS (cont’d)

One project = max. 3 experiments

For each student, each project can be used to assess 1A & 1B only

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Common questions raised by teachers

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(1) Swapping courses(A) School candidates (first-timers)

From To Policy of HKEAA

Remarks

AL (S6)

ASL (S7)

(06&07)

School must run ASL Chem *

ASL (S6)

AL (S7)

(2006) (2007)

* If school is not currently registered in the list of AS

TAS school, it must obtain approval from ED for running AS Chem and inform HKEAA.

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(1) Swapping courses (cont’d)(B) School candidates (repeaters)

From To Policy of HKEAA

Remarks

AL ASL

(2006) approval

needed(07)

School must run ASL Chem *

ASL AL

(2006) approval

needed(07)

School must run AL Chem *

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(3) Lab reports Language medium used must be the sam

e as that chosen for the written exam.

Detailed reports include:object of expt, chemical principles involved, experimental method, results, interpretation and discussion, conclusion.

All reports should be marked.

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Always consult your group coordinators when you have queries or problems

Reminder

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Common problems reported by coordinators

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(1) Unclear experiment titles

E.g. (i) Project 1

(ii) To prepare a carboxylic acid

Titles entered in the TAS assessment records should be informative and specific.

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(2) No preparative experiments

Experiments indicated as P are not preparative experiments.

Preparative experiments should involve techniques such as:

handling of gases, filtration, crystallization, recrystallization, distillation, reflux, drying, liquid-liquid extraction, purity control by determining melting point / boiling point.

A minimum of 2 P experiments should be carried out w.e.f. 2006 examination for both AL & AS.

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(3) Mark range too narrow / too wide

For each candidate, the mark awarded should reflect the typical standard of the candidate.

For the whole class, the marks awarded should be able to discriminate candidates with different abilities

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(4) Teacher changes Best to have more than one teacher

familiar with the Scheme Out-going teacher to hand over his/her

work on TAS to new teacher, including: List of experiments and their handouts Records of TAS marks awarded to

students e.g. printouts of software TAS program, its passwords, and backup

diskettes, if any Inform coordinator of the change

Common problems reported by TAS Administration Team

Late submission

Common problems reported by TAS Administration Team

Schools did not submit declaration or did not sign the declaration properly

Common problems reported by TAS Administration Team

Schools did not submit full set of assessment record, diskettes or some pages of the hardcopies are missing

Common problems reported by TAS Administration Team

Many schools did not check out student who have dropped Chemistry or quitted school or admitted to universities through the Early Admission Scheme

Common problems reported by TAS Administration Team

Schools did not provide signature of teacher or principal

Common problems reported by TAS Administration Team

Schools didn’t provide explanations for those candidates not fulfill minimum TAS requirements

Questions & Answers

Will the final mark of a candidate be affected if he/she has been absent from some of the TAS assessment occasions ?

Questions & Answers

If a candidate suspends his/her study for some time during the 2-year course due to medical or other reasons (such as engagement in an exchange programme in a foreign country), will his/her TAS results obtained before the suspension of study be counted in his/her final TAS result when he/she resumes his/her study?

Questions & Answers

Within the same class, can some students take the examination in Chinese, and some in English? If yes, what language medium should these students use when writing the laboratory report?

Questions & Answers

Should the teacher keep all the reports of the students? What happens if they lose some of the reports?

Questions & Answers

How to handle the data of students who have left the school or will not take the examination?

Questions & Answers

How can teachers safeguard the data entered against any loss due to reformatting of the hard-disk or other unfortunate incidents?

Questions & Answers

Do teachers need to complete all the experiments listed in the AL/ASL syllabus? Can teachers arrange experiments other than those listed in the syllabus for their students?

Questions & Answers

Is it necessary for the teacher to mark all the laboratory reports? Can the teacher just mark the reports that are to be assessed?