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criteria and mark scheme as proposed by the CAPE® Chemistry Panel on for the project were accepted
with a few minor changes.

16. The Assistant Registrar/EDPD explained that candidates will be required to do one research
project in any Unit of any of the CAPE® Sciences (Biology, Chemistry or Physics) in the first sitting, and
can use that mark for the other Units of the Sciences. For example, a candidate may do a project in
Unit 2 Physics in the first sitting, get a mark out of 9 and then (transfer) use that mark for Unit 1
Physics, Units 1 and 2 Chemistry and Units 1 and 2 Biology. The EDPD Officer also shared with the
members of the Panel, the revised table as shown below which illustrates the allocation of marks to
the skills assessed by the SBA. She stated that a maximum of two skills may be assessed by any one
experiment.

Table showing the School-Based Assessment Skills for CAPE® Biology

Skill Unit 1 Unit 2
Observation, Recording and Reporting 9 9
Manipulation and Measurement 9 -
Analysis and Interpretation 9 9
Planning and Designing - 9

Drawing 9 9
Project+ 9 9

TOTAL 45 marks 45 marks

17. Respondents to the survey were asked to indicate additional changes, if any, that should be
made to the form of the examination to allow for adequate assessment of candidates’ performance
on the syllabus. Five respondents were concerned about Paper 02 which comprised three questions
only, one from each Module each worth 30 marks. They were of the opinion that the breadth of the
syllabus was not being assessed. In response to this concern, the Assistant Registrar/EDPD stated that
the Paper 02 was designed to assess the depth and not the breadth of the syllabus. She also stated
that this format will facilitate this process since it allows for the inclusion of not only structured
questions but also for more essay-type questions.

18. The Assistant Registrar/EDPD informed the meeting that the weighting for the assessment will
be the same as with the current syllabus which is 40 per cent each for papers 01 and 02 and 20 per
cent for Paper 03 which is the SBA component. She told the members of the Panel that the reliability
of the marks awarded by teachers on the School-Based Assessment is an important characteristic of
high-quality assessment. Therefore, to assist in this process, the Council would undertake onsite
moderation of the School-Based Assessment which would be conducted by visiting external
Moderators. The Assistant Registrar/EDPD informed the meeting that the format Paper 032 which is
for private candidates only, will still consists of three questions, one from each Module, as follows:

(a) a practical-based question to be executed by the candidate;

(b) a question based on data analysis; and,

(c) a data analysis/a planning and design exercise.

This paper will assess the same skills as the Paper 031, the SBA (see details at Appendix III).

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