Assessing and Moderating
Independent Study Projects in School
Presented by:
Christine Andrews
(AQA’s Principal Moderator for
The Extended Project Qualification)
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Version 3.0
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What does The Extended Project Qualification
seek to develop?
Independent study skills
Research skills
Academic writing skills
Presentation skills
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Welcome to my
Presentation!
What is an Extended Project?
Learners are required, with appropriate supervision, to:
Choose an area of interest
Draft a project title and aims for approval by the Centre
Plan, research and carry out the project
Deliver a presentation to a specified audience
Provide evidence of all stages of project development
and production for assessment
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What are we assessing?
Knowledge recall?
Specified content?
Skills learned and developed?
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Version 3.0
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The Taught Element
Core Skills Required:
Time Management Skills
Research Skills and Evaluation of Sources
Report Writing Skills
Referencing and Bibliography Creation
How to avoid Plagiarism
Presentation Skills
Reflection and Evaluation
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What else are we assessing?
Decision making
Autonomy
Response to advice
Communication: clarity of expression, logical argument,
concision
Ability to develop/expand/focus initial ideas
Ability to draw conclusions based on evidence
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Titles that invite Higher Skills?
‘The Psychology of Crime’
‘The Law doesn’t work. Discuss’
‘The Life of a TV producer’
‘Disney Princesses’
‘Formation and Topography of Deserts’
‘Marijuana’
‘How Disability has changed in England’
‘Growth and Development of Major Engineering Firms’
‘The Big Bang, what is it about?’
‘How the Indian Economy has changed in the last 70 years’
‘How is Spain affected by Tourism?’
‘Explore how Cameras Developed between 2000 and 2010’
‘The History of Tartan’
‘The Stem Cell Debate’
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Titles that invite Higher Skills?
‘Do Disney films emphasise the importance of segregated
gender roles?’
‘Is therapeutic shoeing really necessary for horses?’
‘Does the mathematics curriculum equip students adequately in
the 21st century?’
‘What does the Book of Psalms add to traditional Theodicy?’
‘Is there a link between musical education and academic
performance?’
‘Should cameras be allowed in English courts?’
‘Why have young Japanese men and women stopped having
sex?’
‘Should bankers get a bonus in the current economic climate?’
‘Why do only 1% of UK mothers follow NHS guidelines to
breastfeed exclusively for 6 months and how might this statistic
be increased?’
‘Is veganism a healthy lifestyle?’
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Assessment Objectives
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AO1
Identification of topic to be investigated
Appropriate aims and objectives
Project planning
Monitoring progress
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AO2
Research
Selection of resources
Evaluation of resources
Analysis and application of resources
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AO3
Decision making
Implementation of project plan
Realisation of ‘product’
Changes to and/or development of initial ideas
Synthesis of information from different sources
Communication of findings
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AO4
Evaluation of strengths and weaknesses of completed
project
Evaluation of strengths and weaknesses of candidate’s
own learning
Conclusions reached based on evidence and judgement
Conclusions communicated
Material relevant, well structured and appropriately
presented
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We are assessing the Application of Skills
Think of the chosen ‘Product’ as merely the ‘clothes
horse’ on which the candidate can ‘hang’ or demonstrate
the skills they have acquired
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Assessment
Assessment is terminal and holistic – evidence for any
objective may come in different forms for different
projects
The Taught Element is not itself the basis for any
assessment evidence – all assessment is from evidence
that is the learner’s choice and from the use, by the
learner, of Taught Skills/techniques in the course of their
project work
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The Three Criterion Bands
The Upper Band descriptions are typified by the words
clear and detailed. A good project will achieve marks in
this band where each criterion is likely to be evidenced in
several ways. The upper half of the Upper Band may
usefully be related to the available grade description for A*.
The Middle Band descriptions are typified by the word
some. The project process is likely to have been
successfully completed but with some lack of detail or
clarity. Aspects are likely to be evidenced in only one or
few ways.
The Lower Band descriptions are typified by the word
limited. Attempts have been made at each element of the
process that fail to fully achieve at Level 3.
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of 28
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Assessing Work – Questions to consider...
When assessing the work, ask yourself these questions:
What might reasonably be expected at A2 of an advanced
level student (16-19)?
Is there evidence of over 90+ hours of independent and
autonomous work together with 30+ hours of Taught
Skills?
Is the work submitted individual,
extended and does it demonstrate
stretch and challenge?
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of 28
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Assessment
Marking Extended Projects can be very challenging, especially
the first time.
Do not attempt to assess projects until you have been
‘standardised’ and feel that you have understood the standard
Try not to work in isolation
Swap projects with a colleague and be brutally honest if you think
they have not yet understood the standard.
Beware awarding marks for ‘effort’...submitted evidence is the
only permitted basis for assessment.
It is very hard to be truly objective when assessing a candidate’s
submission, you have spent the last several months watching this
project grow and develop.
Do not interfere in any way with a candidate’s final
submission...they are being assessed in part, on choosing
appropriate evidence.
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Required Assessment Evidence
Project Product
Including a written report and any other evidence, as
appropriate, depending on the topic or subject area
chosen
Production Log & Assessment Record (15 pages)
Including the Project Proposal Forms, details of Taught
Skills, Presentation Record and Candidate Record Form
(all appropriately signed and dated)
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x
5 ofof28
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Too much material
If a candidate submits too much material, you must mark
it... probably both AO3 and AO4 will be affected:
AO3 if the material fails to be logical and coherent
AO4 because inevitably the material will not all be
relevant
AO4 may also be affected if the material is not well
structured
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Too much material
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Examples of Helpful Additional Evidence
(non essential)
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PowerPoint slides printout (if PowerPoint used)
Prezi printout (if Prezi used)
Photo of ‘Market Place’ stand (If presentation was Market Place)
Presentation notes/cue cards
Planning documents (if Gantt chart/action plan/etc. used)
Extract from research journal/blog (if one used)
Evaluation of sources in appendix if not integrated into
log/report
Video/photographic evidence of product realisation (especially
useful for artefacts)
Single copy of pilot questionnaire plus single copy of finally used
questionnaire (if questionnaire used to gather data)
Transcript of interviews (if interviews undertaken)
Risk assessment documentation (if undertaken)
Raw primary data
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Evidence must be relevant and the submission
should be well-structured
Candidates should choose what to include and how
best to structure their submission
Supervisors should not tell candidates what they should
include
Supervisors should not tell candidates how to structure
their submission
Supervisors should not alter/rearrange/add to/reduce a
candidate’s submission
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Assessment and Moderation
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Internal Moderation
Organised by the Centre Coordinator
May involve all supervisors or just a few
Takes time, please allow for this in planning delivery of
the specification
I think your
AO3 mark is
spot on!
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External AQA Moderation
AQA moderators select a small sample to check that the
AQA standard has been consistently applied throughout
the mark range from a Centre
AQA moderators will write feedback for each Centre
highlighting areas of good practice and any areas that
might benefit from further development
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Thank You
27 of x
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