ABSTRACT
Decades of convention would seem then to suggest that practical work was not worthy of formal assessment or, at the very least, not susceptible to those procedures reserved for knowledge and understanding. In this chapter people will consider the nature and range of skills and processes worthy of assessment, drawing people's illustrations from science. They then look at some of the techniques for practical assessment which are emerging as robust and practicable. Basic science skills include such varied skills as the ability to: identify potentially hazardous situations in school and everyday life; arrange information in a tabulated form when given headings; read the scales of laboratory and clinical thermometers and makes appropriate measurements; use a test paper or test solution; prepare a simple microscope slide. Finally people refer to two of the controversial questions, namely the relationship between skills and the broader targets of education, and between skills and knowledge itself.
