Solar Project
A model for sustainable
development of e-assessment
e-assessment
Scottish Learning Festival
Wednesday 19 September 2007

Background
– Originally funded by SFC and SQA
– Additional support from ESF and Scottish
Executive
– Building on existing FE sector initiatives
– Using subject specialists from across Scotland

Solar Project
• Solar Project – www.solarproject.org
• Online system for authoring, peer review and
Verification
• Objective-type questions incl. MCQ, MRQ,
Numerical, gapfill, re-ordering, text-highlight,
drop-down, drag-n-drop, free-text
• All Colleges currently have unlimited access

Solar Project
Already developed
– 450+ versions of Computing assessments
– 150+ Health & Social Care
– Up to 300 Language assessments
– Some Engineering assesments
• e-Assessments for Internet Safety qualification

Solar Project
available January 08
– Sports
– Information Technology and Interactive Media
– 10 units in Dental Technology
– 6 main topics in Early Years Care
– Horticulture
– Music Business
– Water management and Fashion and Textiles
question banks
– NQ – TAPS assessments

New Development
• An assessment ‘Version’ model
replaced with an Itembank model of
development
• Supported by new delivery,
packaging, reporting and feedback
features

New Development Model
SQA
Verifier Authors/PR Verifier
Type of Assessment Contracted for fixed Attempts assessment
number of questions in the delivery system a
Number of questions in covering specified specified number of
an assessment outcomes/KSVs times
Rules on how All questions peer Modifies rules as reqd.
assessment to be reviewed and approved
created including by peer reviewer Edits made by authors
balance as required

Authoring
• Using CP3 – online item authoring
software
• Flash-based
• Flexible question construction

Creating
Rules-based assessment
construction

Delivering
Online administration, delivery and
marking

A Sustainable development
Model
Provide sustainable access for
lecturers and learners to a bank of
items to enable the creation,
delivery and reporting of
customised formative and
summative e-assessments

Lecturer Lecturer
Item Bank
Summative Learner
Learner
Learner Learner
SQA

A Sustainable development
Model
• Making full use of sector resources
• Contributing to a national process of
quality improvement
• Central development with the benefit of
the input of local skills
• Realising local benefits

QUESTIONS

Contact
Graeme Clark
Solar Project Manager
SQA
0845 213 5405
Graeme.Clark@sqa.org.uk
www.solarproject.org