Summer 2022 NEA: Entry Level Science

Bethan Foulkes, Science Subject Advisor

Here at OCR we’ve had lots of queries from centres in recent weeks about marking non-exam assessment (NEA).

There have been questions about how to apply the mark scheme and the adaptations that have been put in place. We’ve also had questions about administrative requirements, and most particularly about whether any allowances should be made when marking for the abnormal and difficult circumstances many students have had to contend with while completing their assignments. 

As the JCQ guidance on NEA marking says: 

“When you come to assess your students’ NEA, you should mark all NEA using the published mark schemes, as you did before the pandemic disruption. If you have more than one person marking your NEA, you must carry out standardisation activities as usual in an exam year, to ensure all your markers are marking to the same standard and using the relevant mark scheme. 

You must not try to account for disruption your learners have experienced by marking more leniently than you would normally. Teachers should not be making holistic and speculative judgements about overall performance or potential. Your marking should be based solely on the completed work in accordance with the published mark scheme. Exam boards will moderate all NEA in the usual way this year.”

In the light of that recent JCQ announcement, and the queries we’ve had from you, we thought it would be helpful to provide a quick summary of the support available to ensure that you are marking to the correct standard.

Guides to applying the mark scheme

There are several resources that will help you have confidence in your application of the mark scheme for both the practical task and the end-of-item tests:

• This support booklet contains three example end-of-item tests which have been annotated to exemplify particular points about the marking that has been carried out. Two example practical tasks are also included which demonstrate a suitable style and format for use, as well as the marks each task achieved. 
• There are further candidate exemplars for the practical tasks. These show the approaches taken by students completing the tasks, and how the marking criteria have been applied. 
• Please also make use of our moderator reports, found on the assessment tab of the qualification web page. These look at end-of-item tests, can do tasks and the practical tasks. The principal moderator gives feedback about common misconceptions seen, marking advice and administration advice.

Administrative points to remember

General information on NEA administration is available on our website. 

For guidance on access arrangements and reasonable adjustments that can be made for entry level candidates, see pages 95 and 96 of the JCQ adjustments document.

For Entry Level Science specifically there are a couple of points to remember:

• An updated candidate record card for students certificating in summer 2022 has been produced. There is an interactive version and an non-interactive version. These must be filled out for each student. 
• The full adaptations that have been put in place for Entry Level Science can be found on our Changes for 2022 page. These apply for students certificating in summer 2022, and should be applied to all the work they have completed towards this qualification. 
• For end-of-item tests, the centres must strike through the points section of the marking table to indicate it is void. This is for all end-of-item tests being submitted for students who are certificating in summer 2022 and are therefore using the updated marking boundaries.

Looking forward to next year’s cohort

We hope that your students enjoy studying Entry Level Science. Remember, there are resources on our website to support you with delivering the course. 

We have produced teaching activity packs for each topic. These have made use of resources for the previous version of the Entry Level Science course, which have been updated where necessary. Other resources have been added, alongside a teacher guide with further suggested activities that could be carried out. Each unit has also been mapped to both Gateway Combined Science and Twenty First Century Combined Science. 

The principal moderator has produced a series of support sheets for the practical task. These cover six different practicals and enable students to complete the write-up required for the practical task, even if they are unable to carry out the practical itself.

Stay connected

If you have any questions, you can email us at science@ocr.org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or tweet us @OCR_Science. You can also sign up to subject updates and receive information about resources and support.

About the author

Bethan joined OCR in April 2019 and is a subject advisor for Entry Level Science, GCSE Sciences and Applied Science. Before joining OCR, Bethan taught Biology to 11–18-year-olds for eight years. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Bethan mentored PGCE students and NQTs in science and oversaw all the trainees and NQTs within the school as a professional tutor. In her spare time, she enjoys dressmaking, quilting and many other different crafts.