AQA A-level Chemistry: specification & assessment

A-level Chemistry practical skills are assessed via a DOUBLE mechanism that must not be conflated: (a) WRITTEN-EXAM practical-skills assessment — AQA states verbatim: "At least 15% of the overall assessment of A-level Chemistry will assess knowledge, skills and understanding in relation to practical work." These marks count toward the A*-E grade and are embedded across Papers 1-3. (b) SEPARATE TEACHER-ASSESSED PRACTICAL ENDORSEMENT — AQA states: "A-level grades will be based only on marks from written exams. A separate endorsement of practical skills will be taken alongside the A-level. This will be assessed by teachers and will be based on direct observation of students' competency in a range of skills that are not assessable in written exams." The cross-board statement adds: "It will appear on all students' certificates as a separately reported result, alongside the overall grade for the qualification"; teachers assess students against the Common Practical Assessment Criteria (CPAC), and "Students who demonstrate the required standard across all the requirements of the CPAC will receive a 'pass' grade." This endorsement does NOT count toward the A*-E grade. Reported outcome is Pass / Not Classified (the specification text explicitly names only the 'pass' grade; 'Not Classified' is AQA's standard non-pass reporting term). Required practical activities: 12 for A-level (section 8.2); the endorsement requires a minimum of 12 practical activities. (Note: AS Chemistry 7404 has 6 required practicals and no endorsement — do not conflate.)