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SQA Parent Presentation on New Qualifications 2014
- 2. QualificationsQualifications Kevin Boyle CfE Support ManagerCfE Support Manager
- 3. New National Qualifications •This fresh approach to learning under Curriculum for Excellence requires new Assessment methods and Qualifications •The new National Qualifications have equal status and credibility to those currently available •This new development will ensure that the skills and abilities of learners are appropriately assessed and recognised
- 4. Specifically within the new national qualifications: Greater focus on skills development Skills for learning, life and work: – Literacy – Numeracy – Skills for Health and Well-being – Employability, Enterprise and Citizenship – Thinking skills www.sqa.org.uk/sfllw What’s Changing?What’s Changing?
- 5. SCQF Level Advanced Higher Higher National 5 National 4 National 3 National 2 National 1 Graded A-D Graded A-D Graded A-D Pass/Fail Pass/Fail Pass/Fail Pass/Fail Previous/Existing Replaced by Resulting Advanced Higher Higher SG Credit/Int2 SG General/Int1 Access 3/SG Foundation Access 2 Access 1 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
- 7. • All courses are unit based • All units are internally assessed as pass or fail- quality assured by SQA • Flexibility of assessment methods Assessment Methods – Unit assessmentAssessment Methods – Unit assessment
- 8. Course assessment in National Courses at National 4, 5, Higher and Advanced Higher will focus on the added value of the course: •breadth •challenge •application This is done through sampling the learners’ skills, knowledge and understanding from across the course. Course Assessment - Added ValueCourse Assessment - Added Value
- 9. • Assessment will be carried out using one or two of the following assessment methods: Assignment Case Study Practical Activity Performance Portfolio Project Question Paper/test • Course assessment for N5, Higher and AH are externally marked by SQA, or internally marked and quality assured by SQA. Assessment Methods – Course assessmentAssessment Methods – Course assessment
- 10. • National 5 and Higher Specimen Question papers and Marking instructions • General assessment information covering Coursework such as Assignment or Practical activity • Download these from SQA’s subject pages at www.sqa.org.uk/browsecfesubjects click the subject you are interested in and select National 5. • www.sqa.org.uk/examtools • BBC Bitesize: www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize • Revision in a nutshell: www.npfs.org.uk • www.hoddereducation.co.uk Study, revision and preparationStudy, revision and preparation http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/70532.html
- 11. This contains: •Letter from SQA’s Chief Executive •Summary of Attainment •Detailed Record of Attainment •Core Skills Profile and SCQF Credit Point Summary Your Scottish Qualifications CertificateYour Scottish Qualifications Certificate
- 16. •SQA More information can be found on our website: www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/59033.html •Twitter: @sqanews •Engage For Education :www.engageforeducation.org •Parentzone is organised into distinct and user-friendly areas covering issues that affect parents during the different stages of their children's education. www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk •Video guide to your Scottish Qualifications Certificate: http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/70532.html More InformationMore Information
Editor's Notes
- SQA has designed the new qualifications, with the interests of the learner at heart. They will help young people demonstrate the knowledge and skills they've developed at school or college and enable them to prepare for further learning, training and employment. The new, simplified format of the qualifications will also be easier for learners, parents and prospective employers to understand.
- So what’s changing with qualifications? As well as subject-based skills, learners will develop five broad areas of general Skills for Learning, Life and Work through the National Courses. These are: Literacy, numeracy, health and wellbeing, employability, enterprise and citizenship & Thinking skills Some new National Courses will also automatically certify Core Skills such as: Communication, Information and Communicative Technology and Problem Solving
- If you look at the table you’ll see the old and new qualifications placed on the Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework. This framework aims to create a language and currency for learning based on the amount of time spent learning and the depth and complexity of the learning. With CfE Access 1 is replaced by National 1 Units. These Units are assessed by the teacher in the school and are pass or fail. Access 2 is replaced by National 2 Courses. National 2 Courses are made up of Units and again, these are assessed by the teacher in the school and are resulted as pass or fail. The student needs to pass all required Units in the Course to achieve the Course Award. If the student doesn’t pass all the Units, they will still receive credit for the Units they passed within the Course. Foundation Standard Grade and Access 3 have been replaced by National 3. Again, the course is made up of Units that are assessed by the teacher in the school and the Course is pass or fail. Standard Grade General and Intermediate 1 Courses have been replaced by the National 4 Course. The National 4 Course is made up of Units and includes an Added Value Unit that assesses the learner’s overall performance across the course. They are assessed as pass or fail by the teacher in the school. To pass the course, learners need to pass all Units including the added value unit. The National 4 course is resulted as pass or fail. Standard Grade Credit and Intermediate 2 have been replaced by National 5. These courses are made up of Units and a course assessment. The Units are assessed by the teacher in the school but the course assessment normally involves an exam or coursework- both of which are normally marked by SQA. National 5 is graded as A-D. If a student achieves less than a D at National 5 there is an opportunity for the school to recognise their positive achievement in passing the Units that they did within the school. If the student is able to pass the Added Value Unit at National 4, SQA awards the student the National 4 course award. Higher and Revised Highers are being replaced by New Higher Courses. These work in the same way as National 5- there are Units that are assessed by the teachers and a course assessment that’s assessed by SQA. This is the first year of the New Higher and there are many schools that are delivering these this year and some that have postponed until next year. This is the last year for the old and revised highers. New Highers are graded A-D. Next year will be the first year of the new Advanced Higher. There are no plans to dual run this course with the current Advanced Higher. Advanced Highers, like Highers and National 5 are comprised of school assessed Units and a course assessment that’s marked by SQA. The SCQF allows learners to receive credit for the Units they’ve passed. The Units, along with the course awards, will appear on the detailed Record of Attainment section within the qualification certification pack your child receives.
- So, to sum up the structure, all courses are Unit based. All Units are internally assessed within the school by teachers. Schools have quality assurance mechanisms in place to ensure teachers are making appropriate assessment decisions. In turn SQA quality assures schools to ensure these decisions are appropriate and that they are managing the internal assessment programme well. Internally Assessed units allow flexibility of assessment which means teachers can decide which is the best way to assess their students’ learning to provide they have the outcomes and experience required to pass the Units.
- Course assessment in National courses at National 4, 5, Higher and Advanced Higher- the part of the course that overarches the other Units focuses on the added value of the course. This means the assessment takes into account the breadth of learning required within the course, the challenge and the application of the course. The course assessment is carried out by sampling the learners’ skills, knowledge and understanding from across the course.
- To determine whether a student has passed the course, we use appropriate subject specific assessment methods. These include assignments, case studies, practical activities, performance, portfolio a project and a question paper or test. As mentioned earlier, the course assessment for the upper levels 5, Higher and Advanced Higher are marked by SQA or internally marked and quality assured by SQA.
- So how can your child prepare? With new qualifications, we’ve produced specimen question papers and marking instructions. Once the exams have been sat, these exams will be published as past papers on our website. Exam Tools gives learners sight of their exam timetable, allow them to create their own personalised timetable and create a study plan. There’s an SQA app for mobile phones and tablets that does the same thing. BBC bitesize has free interactive revision help for the new National Courses. The National Parent Forum for Scotland has produced handy revision guides called ‘Revision in a nutshell’ SQA has endorsed a range of revision materials from Hodder Education including model question papers.