Cambridge Checkpoint Cambridge Secondary 1
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions about Cambridge Checkpoint
- What do people use Cambridge Checkpoint for?
- How does the Cambridge Checkpoint curriculum relate to O Level and IGCSE?
- Who is involved in setting the Cambridge Checkpoint tests?
- Are tests standardised year on year?
- Why does each test have two papers?
- Are Cambridge Checkpoint English tests aimed at first or second-language English speakers?
- What feedback is available from Cambridge Checkpoint?
- How do Cambridge Checkpoint tests relate to the Lower Secondary Programme?
Frequently Asked Admin Questions about Cambridge Checkpoint
- When does Cambridge Checkpoint take place?
- How can I register my Centre for Cambridge Checkpoint?
- Once I am registered, how do I enter candidates for Cambridge Checkpoint?
- What documentation should I receive?
- What do I do with candidates’ scripts once they have taken the tests?
- What do I do if I have any further queries?
- What do people use Cambridge Checkpoint for?
- There are a number of ways in which Cambridge Checkpoint might be used; some of these are outlined below:
- To test students’ strengths and weaknesses on entry to a school/course of study
- To use as a guide for setting/streaming
- To inform students/teachers/parents about suitable exam entries for students, for example to provide evidence about which IGCSE tier to prepare for
- To act as a basis for action planning between student and teacher
- To compare teaching groups/Centres over years
- To test students’ strengths and weaknesses at the end of the Cambridge Lower Secondary Programme
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- How does the Cambridge Checkpoint curriculum relate to O Level and IGCSE?
- The Cambridge Checkpoint curriculum was designed to cover core content necessary for study towards IGCSE, O Level and IB Middle Years programmes.
Cambridge Checkpoint scores are also useful predictors of future IGCSE grades in the same subject. Research has shown, not surprisingly, that candidates with a given Cambridge Checkpoint score can go on to achieve a range of IGCSE results, depending on how well they prepared. The following table shows the IGCSE grades at the centre of the range.
0–1 F 1–2 E 2–3 D 3–4 C 4–5 B 5–6 A/B - Top of page
- Who is involved in setting the Cambridge Checkpoint tests?
- Tests are set by experienced CIE examiners who are also involved in marking them. The tests are revised and vetted by an independent group of experienced CIE examiners.
All test items are pre-tested prior to being put into a live Cambridge Checkpoint test to ensure that they are appropriate in terms of difficulty and discrimination for Cambridge Checkpoint students. - Top of page
- Are tests standardised year on year?
- Statistical techniques are used to ensure that tests in a subject can be compared year on year, as can topics/skills within subjects. The results of the tests – for the whole subject and for each topic/skill – are reported on a standardised scale of Cambridge Checkpoint scores. Cambridge Checkpoint scores range from 0.0 (a low level of achievement) to 6.0 (a high level of achievement). The average score for Cambridge Checkpoint students is about 3.0–4.0.
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- Why does each test have two papers?
- Two papers are set for each subject in order to divide up the time a candidate needs to be in a formal examination situation. In the case of Science the two papers are equal in terms of demand on students. In English, papers are staged, with paper 1 containing lower level questions. In Mathematics papers are divided into calculator and non-calculator.
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- Are Cambridge Checkpoint English tests aimed at first- or second-language English speakers?
- The test was devised for first-language English speakers and the Cambridge Checkpoint scales calibrated against the performance of first-language English speakers (entry forms distinguish FLE and SLE speakers). The test can be accessed by second-language English speakers but they will be awarded scores rated against FLE scales.
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- What feedback is available from Cambridge Checkpoint?
- Cambridge Checkpoint is not a certificated service although students receive a statement of achievement. Feedback comes in four forms: reports on each candidate, on each teaching group, on the Centre, and (at the end of the session) on the entire cohort. More feedback information can be seen on the overview page.
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- How do Cambridge Checkpoint tests relate to the Lower Secondary Programme?
- The Cambridge Checkpoint tests can be taken independently of the Lower Secondary Programme or alternatively can be used as a conclusion to the programme. All the learning objectives tested through Checkpoint are covered by the Lower Secondary Programme curriculum framework and so Checkpoint provides a suitable standardised test for use at the end of stage 9.
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- When does Cambridge Checkpoint take place?
- There are two Cambridge Checkpoint sessions a year. Each session lasts for three weeks and the approximate timings of the sessions are:
- May session – the end of April and the beginning of May
- October session – the end of October and the beginning of November
Cambridge Checkpoint is a window exam so Centres can organise their own timetable within the three-week period that is available. However, it should be stressed that, despite this flexibility, Cambridge Checkpoint is still a Cambridge test and should be conducted under examination conditions. - Top of page
- How can I register my Centre for Cambridge Checkpoint?
- If you are an existing CIE Centre, registration for Cambridge Checkpoint is very straightforward. All you have to do is contact Cambridge International Examinations in writing, give your Centre details and explain that you are interested in taking Cambridge Checkpoint. If your Centre has already been approved for IGCSE, approval will be given automatically.
If you are not an existing CIE Centre you will need to contact Cambridge International Examinations in the first instance. Queries can either be sent to Customer Services, Cambridge International Examinations, 1 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB1 2EU, faxed to Cambridge International Examinations on +44 1223 553558, emailed to us at international@ucles.org.uk, or you can telephone our Customer Services Department on +44 1223 553553. We will send you a Centre Registration form, which will need to be completed and returned to the above address. If your school satisfies our criteria you will become an approved Centre for Cambridge Checkpoint, you will be allocated a Centre number to be used in all correspondence and you will automatically be sent entry documentation. - Top of page
- Once I am registered, how do I enter candidates for Cambridge Checkpoint?
- Entry forms will be provided by Cambridge International Examinations three months before the test window. You should note that Cambridge Checkpoint uses a different entry form from other Cambridge examinations. Instructions for the completion of the form will also be provided, as will an administrative timetable. Entries will be required one month in advance of tests so that relevant documentation can be produced.
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- What documentation should I receive?
- Once your entry has been processed you will receive Statements of Entry detailing the overall school entry and individual candidate entry details. This provides an opportunity to correct any errors that may exist in your entry. Nearer the test window you will be sent question papers, which will need to be stored in a secure environment, attendance registers and script envelopes with return labels.
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- What do I do with candidates’ scripts once they have taken the tests?
- Scripts need to be returned to Cambridge International Examinations. Labels will be provided in order to address packets of scripts. The scripts will be marked at Cambridge and feedback data returned to Centres within four weeks of receipt.
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- What do I do if I have any further queries?
- At present all enquiries, apart from those specified above, should be addressed to Customer Services at Cambridge International Examinations in the first instance.
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