In the November 2020 series for some coursework, speaking and practical components, teachers and students will be able to adjust their approach to the course or their administration of the test to meet the requirements of the component. This applies to components in listed in the ‘Coursework, speaking and practical components: advice for November 2020 (PDF, 31KB)’ document.
The general guidance and syllabus-specific guidance below are relevant to components where candidates will be able to work from home on coursework or speaking tasks for final assessment. The guidance covers how to authenticate work submitted remotely for final assessment, and ways to support students as they complete assessed work from home.
For components where candidates cannot complete the component according to the syllabus requirement, but it is still possible for candidates to meet all the assessment objectives, we have determined adjustments to the requirements of the component. Where a candidate cannot complete the component according to the syllabus requirements, but a component adjustment is not possible, we have explained what you can do. You can find this information on our Coursework, speaking and practical components (component adjustments) page.
How can candidates complete their coursework from home and without teacher supervision?
You must be in a position to authenticate your candidates’ coursework when you submit it. To help you do this remotely, you can:
- check in with your candidates regularly about their progress
- ask candidates to submit their draft work electronically for you to review, where appropriate
- supervise your candidates’ work using online systems with video capability provided you have been given the necessary permissions to do this
- refer to our advice about plagiarism.
How can candidates conduct their coursework research, surveys or interviews from home?
Where appropriate and in compliance with local safeguarding requirements, candidates can conduct research, surveys and interviews online instead of face-to-face. There are also many online resources that can help candidates to gather information for their coursework from home, for example, academic journals and fieldwork tutorials. Some art collections and museums can be visited online. Teachers may signpost subject-specific resources that will allow candidates to conduct research, complete surveys and practise key skills to help them with their coursework.
What can candidates do at home to practise speaking skills in preparation for their speaking tests?
Candidates can practise the skills required for their speaking tests from home, for example, by having online conversations with teachers and other candidates via a video conferencing platform.
If candidates intend to wear a mask during their actual speaking test, they could practise having conversations wearing a mask. This might mean that candidates will need to adjust the way they speak, for example, they might need to speak more loudly and clearly to make sure that they can be understood.
For speaking tests without confidential material, can we administer the test remotely?
For these components, you should try to administer the speaking test as normal, according to the syllabus requirements. Where this is not possible, you can conduct the test remotely, but you must make sure that the candidate does not have access to any materials not normally permitted in the speaking test. To do this, you will need to use a video call to check the materials the candidate has access to for the test. Once you have completed this check, you can conduct the rest of the test as an audio call.
You must record each speaking test you conduct remotely, as you normally would, and compile all candidate recordings in a single submission to Cambridge for external moderation. Submit the speaking test recordings to us in a file format specified on the samples database www.cambridgeinternational.org/samples for the component.
For speaking tests with confidential material, can we administer the test remotely?
You will not be able to administer speaking tests with confidential material remotely. We will be giving you more information about these speaking tests in our next update.
Can I have an extension to conduct the speaking tests?
You should conduct the speaking tests within the published test window. We know that, in some cases, that you may need more time to complete your tests, and so we will not require you to complete the tests within as short a timeframe as possible, however, you must administer all of your speaking tests within the test window for the component.
How can candidates prepare for their science practical exams?
Practical skills should be taught and practised as an integral part of all science courses. We recommend that all candidates, whether they are taking practical exams or ‘alternative to practical’ exams, should prepare by doing practical experiments at school, although we are aware that many candidates are not able to carry out practical work in school at the moment.
However, candidates can practise many practical skills remotely. Teachers can use sample results from experiments that were carried out in class to allow candidates to practise skills such as graph plotting, data analysis and drawing conclusions. Teachers can also use the experiments described in past papers to develop candidates’ planning and evaluation skills.
Schools may also choose to prioritise the teaching of theory work while closed, and then prioritise practical work when they are able to reopen. There is more information on science practical exams on our Coursework, speaking and practical components (component adjustment) page.
Below is further guidance on how you can adjust your approach to teaching and learning for specific syllabuses.