Practical assessment

Unit test 3 is part of the AS programme and consists of an internal assessment of practical skills including:

• designing experiments,
• carrying out experiments,
• processing information from experiments and evaluating procedures.

The marks awarded for experimental skills in unit 3 contribute 30% towards the award of the AS grade and 15% to the overall award of an A-level grade

Unit test 5A is part of the A2 programme which includes an assessment of:

• a complete investigation, and
• general practical competence.

The marks awarded for investigational skills and general practical competence in unit 5 contribute 7.5% towards the award of the Advanced GCE grade for each student.

Further guidance for centres on the standards and demands of the internal assessment of practical skills is provided in the Edexcel publication Internal Assessment of Practical Coursework for AS and Advanced GCE in Chemistry (Nuffield).