Qualifications Update:
People and Society
Developing qualifications
• Progression
• More open and flexible requirements
• Assessment which supports learning
• Refreshed and relevant contexts for learning
• Personalisation and choice
• Robust and credible
Relationship between CfE and SCQF Levels
Continues to 12
CfE
Levels
2
1
early
years
4
3
≈
4
3
SCQF
Levels
2
1
People and Society - key messages
• Interdisciplinary
• Based around key ideas drawn broadly from the Social Subjects, Social
Science and Religious and Moral Education subject areas
• Each Unit has a skills focus:
– Investigating
– Comparing and contrasting
– Making decisions
• Coherence derived from choosing an overall context or theme for the
Course and from having one key idea in common across the three Units
• At N3 in addition each Unit should also use a key idea which is different
from the common idea and different in each Unit
• At N4 in addition each Unit should also use two key ideas which are
different from the common idea and different in each Unit
Unit Structure
National 3
National 4
Investigating Skills
Investigating Skills
Comparing and
Contrasting
Comparing and
Contrasting
Making Decisions
Making Decisions
Added Value Unit:
Assignment
Unit Assessment Support Packs - key messages
• Are available on the SQA Secure Website, are
confidential documents and should be treated as such
and held securely
• Use one of three approaches to generating evidence:
• Unit by Unit approach
• Combined approach
• Portfolio approach
• Assessors may use the assessments provided in UASPs
• as they are
• to adapt
• to develop their own assessments
They will be made available in Word format for this purpose
Unit Assessment Support Packs - key messages
• Valid from August 2013
• encourage professional judgement
• allow assessors to chose appropriate contexts and forms of
evidence
• support, motivate and challenge learners
• Each pack provides details of
• a broad based task
• type of evidence to be gathered
• how this is to be judged against assessment standards
an example of a Candidate Assessment and how it should be
assessed
• Most important aspect for SQA is that standards are
met and that all evidence is authentically the
candidate’s own work
Unit Assessment Support Packs - key messages
• Assessment approaches should support and be consistent with
learning and teaching approaches and the needs of individual
candidates
• Assessment judgements are made on a pass fail basis
• Contexts may be changed to suit or be made more relevant to
candidates, but must of the same level of demand and difficulty
• Where assessment is by observation or oral questioning, evidence
should include assessor comments that show clearly the basis on
which assessment judgements have been made
• UAS packs also include examples of recording documentation:
assessors may adapt these to suit local needs and approaches
Assessment Support Schedule 2012/13
Oct 12 to Mar 13
N3 to N5 Unit Assessment Support (Package 1)
Feb 13
N3 to N5 Unit Assessment Support (Package 2)
Feb 13
N5 Specimen Question Paper
Apr 13
N3 to N5 Unit Assessment Support (Package 3)
Apr 13
N5 Specimen Coursework
Apr 13
N4 Added Value Assessment Support
People and Society
Unit Assessment
National 3 to National 4
Unit assessment
• Flexible and open Assessment Standards and Evidence
Requirements in Units
• Greater range of techniques and methodologies for assessment –
encouraged through Unit assessment support packages
• Assessments can be designed to provide evidence across more
than one outcome or Unit – combined assessments
• More opportunities to gather naturally occurring evidence –
assessment as part of learning and teaching
Unit Assessment Support
packages – purpose
Assessment support packages will be provided which you can
use to:
• Assess your candidates
• Adapt for your own assessment programmes
• Help you develop your own assessments
Unit Assessment Support
packages – key features
• Valid from August 2013
• Designed to encourage professional judgement
• Provide broad-based tasks – allow assessors to choose
appropriate context and forms of evidence
• Show range of approaches to generating assessment evidence
• Give information on the type of evidence which could be
gathered and how this is to be judged against Assessment
Standards
Unit assessment support
packages - approaches
Package 1
• Unit by Unit approach – discrete assessment
tasks for each Unit
Package 2
• Combined approach – groups Outcomes and
Assessment Standards from different Units
Package 3
• Portfolio approach – gathering evidence
assessment standard by assessment standard
Assessment Package 1
Comparing and
Contrasting
Investigating Skills
Making Decisions
You can use the illustrative examples provided and adapt these to suit the contexts that
your learners have studied or the kind of approach that would suit them best
N3
Responses to questions
Comparing and
Contrasting
Slavery – then and now
Oral presentation
Investigating Skills
Local Environment and
Change
Visual product
Making Decisions
Human Rights
N4
Visual product
Comparing and
Contrasting
Capital Punishment
Responses to questions
Investigating Skills
Local Issues – Replacing a
School
Oral presentation
Making Decisions
Human Trafficking
Assessment Package 1
• Although a range of approaches to gathering
evidence for Unit assessment have been
illustrated:
• the standard applied is the same irrespective of the
approach taken
• it is the skills, knowledge and understanding which are
being assessed – do not inflate the demands of the
Unit
• there should be consistency in conditions across
different techniques
• all approaches should be manageable for learners and
centres
Key points from Unit Assessment
Support packs
• Overview of assessment
• States purpose of
assessment
• Gives description of
assessment task
• Indicates flexibility of task
and opportunities for
adaptation
• Suggests prior learning
• Suggests approaches to
generating evidence
Key points from Unit Assessment
Support packs
• Assessment conditions
• Candidates should have sufficient
time to complete the task
• Level of teacher/lecturer support
should be appropriate for level
but evidence must be the
candidate's own work
• When group work is used –
evidence of individual
achievement is required
Key points from Unit Assessment
Support packs
• Evidence to be gathered
• Sufficient for QA purposes but not burdensome
• Practical approaches to retaining evidence e.g.
candidate responses/product, assessor checklists,
supplementary material
Key points from Unit Assessment
Support packs
• Teacher prompts and
questioning may be used to:
• Confirm evidence is
candidate’s own work
• For clarification/confirmation
of standard being met
• To supplement
oral/visual/written
presentation if necessary
Key points from Unit Assessment
Support packs
• Judging evidence
• Standards need to be consistently
applied, irrespective of the approach
taken to generating evidence
• General principles and specific
exemplification given
• Candidates may provide evidence of
meeting the standard outwith the
specific prompt – this should be
credited
Key points from Unit Assessment
Support packs
• Reassessment
• SQA policy continues to
apply
• Only need to reassess
specific Outcomes or
assessment standards not
yet met
Key points from Unit Assessment
Support packs
• Recording
documentation
• Exemplars given
• Centres should adapt, as
required to meet their
own needs
Key points from Unit Assessment
Support packs
• Assessment for candidates - task
• Illustrative only
• Centres encouraged to adapt to their own
contexts
Workshop 1
Task 1
Use the materials provided:
• Split into groups of 2-3. Discuss
• The assessment tasks illustrated
• Approaches to generating evidence
• Making judgements
• How could you use, adapt or model the Unit
Assessment materials to support you in
your own centres?
Lunch Break
• Afternoon session:
– Combined Assessment
– Course planning
– Added Value Unit
Workshop 2
Task 2
Use the materials provided:
• Split into groups of 2-3. Discuss
• How you could combine assessment in your
own centre
• How could you structure your course in the
light of these documents?
General Update
New Quality Assurance arrangements
•
Will cover new National 1 to National 5 from 2013/14
•
New arrangements will promote shared understanding of
national standards through a collaborative and partnership
approach
•
New ‘Nominee’ role - provides a pool of nationally trained
experts
•
Intense verification in the first 3 years, then an intelligence
led approach will be adopted
New Quality Assurance arrangements
•
Will cover new National 1 to National 5 from 2013/14
•
New arrangements will promote shared understanding of
national standards through a collaborative and partnership
approach
•
New ‘Nominee’ role - provides a pool of nationally trained
experts
•
Intense verification in the first 3 years, then an intelligence
led approach will be adopted
Prior-Verification
•
•
•
•
Can amend SQA Unit Assessment Support Packs, maintaining
the standard.
If developing assessments, advised to use SQA Prior
Verification Service.
First prior verification window opens 3rd June 2013, response
in August.
Thereafter, 6 week turnaround on submissions
www.sqa.org.uk/cfepriorverification
Recognising Positive Achievement
• Opportunities for candidates who have achieved Units at
National 5, but failed the Course Assessment, to achieve the
Course at National 4
• “Fallback” based on hierarchical structures
• No Compensatory Awards
• Must have an entry and a ‘Pass’ result for the N4 Added Value
Unit (English, Gaidhlig and Maths also require Literacy and
Numeracy Units)
• Pre and post certification models
• A guide on these arrangements is now available
www.sqa.org.uk/cfedelivery
People and Society
Added Value Assessment:
- National 4 Added Value Unit
Adding Value – National 4
• Each Course at National 4 includes
assessment of Added Value
• For National 4, the added value is in an
Added Value Unit - not graded
Added Value
• Makes the Course more than the sum of its parts
• Builds on current Course assessment and Group Award
approaches
• Defined as breadth, challenge and/or application as
outlined in Building the Curriculum 5
• May involve accumulation, assimilation, integration
and/or application of skills, knowledge and
understanding
• At N4 uses one of 7 defined assessment methods
National 4 Added Value Unit
Assignment
• Opportunity for learner
personalisation and choice
• Flexibility in how the learner
presents findings
• Internally assessed by centres
and externally quality assured
by SQA
• Conducted under some
supervision and control
National 4 Added Value Unit
Assignment
• Support materials produced by
SQA to provide advice and
guidance on:
– the degree of support which may
be provided
– assessment conditions
– nature and amount of evidence to
be retained for quality assurance
purposes
– making assessment judgements
Workshop 3
Task 3
• Use the materials provided:
– Further information on Course assessment at
N4
– Assignment read across document
• In small groups of 2-3, discuss
– National 4 Added Value Unit
Recognising Positive Achievement
• Opportunities for candidates who have achieved Units at
National 5, but failed the Course Assessment, to achieve the
Course at National 4
• “Fallback” based on hierarchical structures
• No Compensatory Awards
• Must have an entry and a ‘Pass’ result for the N4 Added Value
Unit (English, Gaidhlig and Maths also require Literacy and
Numeracy Units)
• Pre and post certification models
• A guide on these arrangements is now available
www.sqa.org.uk/cfedelivery
People and Society
Added Value Assessment:
- National 4 Added Value Unit
Adding Value – National 4
• Each Course at National 4 includes
assessment of Added Value
• For National 4, the added value is in an
Added Value Unit - not graded
Added Value
• Makes the Course more than the sum of its parts
• Builds on current Course assessment and Group Award
approaches
• Defined as breadth, challenge and/or application as
outlined in Building the Curriculum 5
• May involve accumulation, assimilation, integration
and/or application of skills, knowledge and
understanding
• At N4 uses one of 7 defined assessment methods
National 4 Added Value Unit
Assignment
• Opportunity for learner
personalisation and choice
• Flexibility in how the learner
presents findings
• Internally assessed by centres
and externally quality assured
by SQA
• Conducted under some
supervision and control
National 4 Added Value Unit
Assignment
• Support materials produced by
SQA to provide advice and
guidance on:
– the degree of support which may
be provided
– assessment conditions
– nature and amount of evidence to
be retained for quality assurance
purposes
– making assessment judgements
Workshop 3
Task 3
• Use the materials provided:
– Further information on Course assessment at
N4
– Assignment read across document
• In small groups of 2-3, discuss
– National 4 Added Value Unit