OCR's AAQs - Vocational Qualifications TC Meeting

This post summarises a TC meeting where OCR talked about their new Cambridge Advanced Nationals (AAQs) which will be first taught from 2025. The qualifications covered include:

• IT: Data Analytics
• Computing: Application Development

Assessment Criteria and Grading System

• The unit grade is awarded based on the total number of achieved criteria, with specific pass, merit, and distinction points allocated for different levels of achievement.
• Students must achieve 10 to pass, 15 for a merit and 20 for a distinction out of a total of 24.
• Students can achieve the overall qualification even if there are some units scoring lower than a pass as it's based on total points rather than each unit.
• The marking criteria are detailed and granular, with different marks allocated for various assessment criteria within the unit.
• Threshold boundaries may be adjusted over time based on performance.

Teaching and Learning

• The meeting emphasised the importance of teaching both content breadth and depth to prepare students effectively for assessments.
• It highlights the availability of training opportunities for teachers to ensure they are well-equipped to deliver the curriculum.

Examination Structure

• Examinations are structured to assess performance objectives through various question types like multiple-choice, short answers, and extended response questions.
• Long answer responses are detailed with scenarios provided to guide students in providing appropriate responses.
• An extended certificate (360GLH) has 2 mandatory exam units, 1 mandatory NEA unit and 2 optional NEA units from 4 to choose from.

See the slides

See the recording

Join the Vocational Qualifications Community