Frequently Asked Questions

Yes - Asset Languages external qualifications are accredited by the regulatory authorities QCDA, DCELLS and CCEA.

The fees list on the centres/fees page of the website lists the costs of entering candidates for our externally assessed tests and the prices of our Teacher Assessment Packs.

Yes. In December 2008, UCAS announced the allocation of tariff points to our Advanced Stage qualifications. The points for Asset Languages come into effect for entry into higher education from 2010 onwards. For details of the points allocated by UCAS to our Advanced Stage qualifications, visit the relevant page of the UCAS website: http://www.ucas.ac.uk/students/ucas_tariff/tarifftables/#asset

Yes there are achievement and attainment table points. Points are per skill. Please see the structure page in the About section for full details.

No, but they are connected - the Languages Ladder is a recognition scheme for language learners launched as part of the Government's National Languages Strategy. Asset Languages is OCR's name for the assessment scheme which provides accreditation for learners by mapping their skills against the Ladder.

The Asset Languages name has developed both from the word assessment and the appreciation that languages skills can be an asset to everyone.

There is assessment material available in each of the following languages: Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Cornish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Panjabi, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Turkish, Urdu, Welsh and Yoruba. (Check the availability page in About Asset for exact stages and formats).

The stages of Asset Languages relate to the National Qualifications Framework in the following ways: Breakthrough: Grades 1-3 = on the National Qualifications Framework at Entry Level 1-3. Preliminary: Grades 4-6 = on the National Qualifications Framework at Level 1. Intermediate: Grades 7-9 = on the National Qualifications Framework at Level 2. Advanced: Grades 10-12 = Level 3.

Yes, marking criteria for speaking is contained in the Examiner's Booklet and detailed on the website on the centres/speaking tests page.

Asset Languages qualifications are primarily designed for candidates who follow courses of study at a registered Asset centre. It is recognised that there are candidates who may not study at a registered centre but who may wish to sit Asset Languages assessments. Such individuals are referred to as private candidates.

You just need to place an order. Go to ‘About Asset’ and then ‘Availability’ to see whether the pack you want is available and to download an order form.

Grade Awards can only be purchased by a centre with an Accredited Teacher for that particular Stage, i.e. a Teacher who is accredited for Breakthrough French will also be able to purchase Breakthrough German Grade Awards. To order Grade Awards, go to Centres/Fees to download an order form.

The style of question papers is the same as our general assessments. The difference lies in the topics which focus on the world of work without using specialised vocabulary. World of Work papers are designed to be accessible, and use everyday language that may be experienced in the workplace eg. meeting and greeting, asking questions and following instructions. The specifications are designed to support the 14-19 agenda in schools. World of Work assessments are now offered in French, German and Spanish at Preliminary and Intermediate Stages. More information can be found on the About Asset/World of Work pages.

Listening and reading tests are multiple choice tests, which are marked electronically by OCR. Writing tests are marked by experienced OCR Asset Languages examiners. Speaking tests are marked by the centre and moderated by OCR Asset Languages moderators.

QCA has agreed to 30 hours for each skill at Breakthrough Stage, 40 hours at each of Preliminary and Intermediate Stages and 50 at Advanced Stage. This is merely an indicative guide –centres are encouraged to create courses to suit their learners.

The stages of Asset Languages relate to the National Qualifications Framework in the following ways: Breakthrough: Grades 1-3 = on the National Qualifications Framework at Entry Level 1-3. Preliminary: Grades 4-6 = on the National Qualifications Framework at Level 1. Intermediate: Grades 7-9 = on the National Qualifications Framework at Level 2. Advanced: Grades 10-12 = Level 3.

Asset Languages qualifications are designed as a measure of proficiency, to fit around existing schemes of work. There is no set course.

The National Centre for Languages (CILT), 3rd Floor, 111 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7HR, telephone 08456 12 5885, can assist with resources and ideas for language teaching. http://www.cilt.org.uk/

Yes - either teacher assessment or external assessment can be used. There is a guide available from the Teachers section of the website on the Secondary Teachers page.

When you purchase a Teacher Assessment Pack, self-access training materials accompany the Pack. You can complete these in your own time and then send them back to OCR to be marked. This training is optional and is ONLY required if you wish to offer Grade Awards to your students for the completion of Teacher Assessment tasks. For more information, see Teachers/Become Accredited section of the website.

No. If you have an access arrangement issue, please request an additional CD eight weeks prior to the testing window. If you are unable to give eight weeks' notice, if a candidate has had an accident for example, please contact us immediately.

See 'Using Questions Correctly' within the introduction of the Speaking Test Examiner's Booklet for information about scripts and questions.

Yes, marking criteria for speaking is contained in the Examiner's Booklet and detailed on the website on the centres/speaking tests page.

New entries for an assessment will not normally be accepted more than two weeks after the published deadline for a session. However it will still be possible to add (or withdraw) candidate entries for assessments already entered. Such entries will be charged at a higher rate. Fees charged at this higher rate will be listed as ‘Stepped’ on your centre’s invoice.

Entry fees will not be refunded if a candidate is withdrawn after the entry deadline has passed.

The option code is a one-letter code appended to the assessment code when making entries to identify which context is to be taken (e.g. P201/P). The option codes are Primary: P, Secondary: S, Post-16: A and Context-free: C.

See the Admin Guide and the Online Entries and Results System User Guide for details on how to make entry amendments.

Deadlines are given in the Admin Guide (available on the exams officer's page of the website) and in the schedules for external assessments, see the examsofficers/scheduling page.

Final entries must be made for all skills by the deadline for each series. These are made by EDI or via the Online Entries and Results System. Estimated entries are no longer required for all skills. However, if you wish to enter candidates for speaking tests during the year, centres must complete a request for speaking test materials form by 5 October 2009, with an estimate of the number of candidates that will be entered for each language and stage in a series.

So OCR can send you the materials you need to deliver your speaking tests.

Yes, final entries are required for all skills. Check the deadlines for each series provided on the examsofficers/scheduling page of the website. For speaking tests, you also need to request speaking test materials by the deadline of 05/10/09.

It's a free secure website for exams officers to make entries and view results. You register by completing and submitting a Terms of Use form downloadable from the exams officers/entries page. You will then be issued with login details.

A ULN or unique learner number, is a personal 10-digit number, which is essential for all 14-19 Diploma candidates. It is allocated by the Learner Registration Service (www.maip.gov.uk/lrs). It is used to link Diploma component results together for Diploma certification. Where a learner is not working towards a Diploma, no ULN needs to be submitted with their entries.

Yes. They can be entered as a private candidate. Select the private status when making their entry. You will need to be willing to carry out any necessary administration including verifying the identity of the candidate in the examination room.

If a school/college is willing to carry out the necessary administration, you/your child can be entered as a private candidate.

Late entry charges are applied once the final entry deadline for each series has passed. These charges are detailed in the fees list available on the centres/fees pages of the website. Fees are not refunded for withdrawals. Amendments to a candidate's personal details (eg name) are free of charge before certificates are issued.

If there are significant changes in the details of candidates, languages or stages that you submitted on your first materials request form, please complete and submit a second one.

These are data files which allow you to make entries and receive results electronically, for centres using EDI. The files are designed to be electronically imported into your centre's management information system. With details of all available assessments, entry codes, timetables, and fees, Asset basedata can be downloaded from the main OCR website (www.ocr.org.uk) approximately one month before the entry deadline.

A full list of available assessments is given in the Admin Guide, provided within the Asset Languages basedata downloadable from the OCR website, and visible on the Asset Languages Online Entries and Results System.

If you are worried that you are going to miss a deadline, you should fax Centre Services on 01223 552646 briefly describing the problem and stating when you expect to make entries.

To query an invoice, please forward a copy of the invoice and supporting documentation to Finance Division, OCR, 1 Hills Road, Cambridge CB1 2EU, or email creditcontrol@cambridgeassessment.org.uk. Please quote your centre number and invoice number in all correspondence.

They will not be accepted (unless your centre is known not to have access to the internet). We will contact you and ask you to make them electronically.

Please use the Online Entries and Results System to inform OCR of the times and dates that you wish to schedule your tests.

Speaking test materials lasting for a whole academic year will be despatched within 4 weeks of receiving the request for your speaking test materials forms. Listening, reading and writing tests for each series are despatched, based on final entries seven to ten days before a testing window.

See section 4.3 of the OCR Admin Guide available on the exams officers page of the website.

No!

If your centre does not have access to a computer we can accept paper entries. However this is under exceptional circumstances only. All centres that do have access to a computer should make entries via the Asset Online Entries and Results System or EDI. If your centre envisages long-term electronic problems (ie more than a week in most cases), please let us know.

Asset Languages qualifications are primarily designed for candidates who follow courses of study at a registered Asset centre. It is recognised that there are candidates who may not study at a registered centre but who may wish to sit Asset Languages assessments. Such individuals are referred to as private candidates.

If a school/college is willing to carry out the necessary administration, you/your child can be entered as a private candidate.

If a school/college is willing to carry out the necessary administration, you/your child can be entered as a private candidate.