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We report here on the first of two evaluations of a national project (Getting Practical: Improving Practical Work in Science—IPWiS) designed to improve the effectiveness of practical work in both primary and secondary schools in England. This first baseline evaluation of the effectiveness of practical work is based on a study of a diverse range of 30 practical lessons undertaken in non‐selective primary (n = 10) and secondary (n = 20) schools prior to the teachers undertaking a training intervention designed to improve their effective use of practical work. A multi‐site case study approach employing a condensed fieldwork strategy was used in which data were collected, using audiotape‐recorded discussions, interviews, and observational field notes. The analysis, based on work by Millar et al. and Tiberghien, considers what students do and think relative to what their teacher intended them to do and think. In both …