A/AS level Chemistry TAS

1. A/AS level Chemistry TAS Workshop for Teachers 22 October 2005

2. 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

3. 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

4. Information about TAS: • Refer to Handbook on the A/AS Chemistry Teacher Assessment Scheme • HKEAA website: www.hkeaa.edu.hk • Enquiry: 28343211 Ext 668

5. 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

6. 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 Requirements of TAS(cont’d)

7. A-level: S6: (2007: 15) (2006: 18) S7: (2007: 8) (2006: 10) Over two years, at least 7 expts should be assessed. Starting from 2007 Examination AS-level: Over two years: (2007: 13) (2006: 16) A/AS-level: over two years, at least: 2 preparative 5 qualitative 5 quantitative Minimum number of experiments: [2007 TAS handbook: P.5---3.3--- (b)]

8. Ability area No. of Assessed Marks Required Starting from 2007 Examination S6 S7 Over the two-year A  2 • 1 • 2 • 4 5  10  12 B  2 • 1 • 2  4 5 ( 4 5 detailed reports) C 1 1 2 Assessment Requirement: [2007 TAS handbook: P.6--- (d)] A-level

9. Starting from 2007 Examination Ability area No. of Assessed Marks Required S6 S7 Over the two-year A  1  1  2  7 B  1  1  2 ( 3 detailed reports) C --- 1 1 Assessment Requirement: [2007 TAS handbook: P.6--- (d)] AS-level

10. Starting from 2007 Examination Ability area No. of Assessed Marks Required in S7 A 2007:  3(2006:  4 ) B 2007:  3(2006:  4 ) ( 2 detailed reports) C 1 Assessment Requirement S7 repeater/transfer candidate: [2007 TAS handbook: P.6--- (e)] A-level

11. Starting from 2007 Examination Ability area No. of Assessed Marks Required in S7 A  2 B  2 ( 1 detailed report) C 1 Assessment Requirement S7 repeater/transfer candidate: [2007 TAS handbook: P.6--- (e)] AS-level

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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

15. Project work in TAS Not compulsory Involve practical work and experimental investigation Include: designing experiment performing the investigation writing the report

16. Project work in TAS (cont’d) • One project = max. 3 experiments • For each student, each project can be used to assess 1A & 1B only

17. Common questions raised by teachers

18. (1) Swapping courses (A) School candidates (first-timers) * 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.

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

20. (3) Lab reports • Language medium used must be the same 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.

21. Reminder Always consult your group coordinators when you have queries or problems

22. Common problems reported by coordinators

23. (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.

24. (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.

25. (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 .

26. (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

27. Common problems reported by TAS Administration Team Late submission

28. Common problems reported by TAS Administration Team Schools did not submit declaration or did not sign the declaration properly

29. 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

30. 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

31. Common problems reported by TAS Administration Team Schools did not provide signature of teacher or principal

32. Common problems reported by TAS Administration Team Schools didn’t provide explanations for those candidates not fulfill minimum TAS requirements

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

34. 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?

35. 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?

36. Questions & Answers Should the teacher keep all the reports of the students? What happens if they lose some of the reports?

37. Questions & Answers How to handle the data of students who have left the school or will not take the examination?

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

39. 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?

40. 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?