Qualifications Update: People and Society Qualifications Update: People and Society.

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

CfE Levels

early years

1

2

3

4 SCQFLevels

12

3

4

Continues to 12

≈

Relationship between CfE and SCQF Levels

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 SocietyUnit 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 UnitPackage 2 • Combined approach – groups Outcomes and

Assessment Standards from different UnitsPackage 3 • Portfolio approach – gathering evidence

assessment standard by assessment standard

Assessment Package 1Comparing 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 questionsComparing and ContrastingSlavery – then and now

Oral presentationInvestigating SkillsLocal Environment and Change

Visual productMaking DecisionsHuman Rights

N4

Visual productComparing and ContrastingCapital Punishment

Responses to questionsInvestigating SkillsLocal Issues – Replacing a School

Oral presentationMaking DecisionsHuman 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


• 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


• 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


• 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


• 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


• Reassessment• SQA policy continues to

apply• Only need to reassess

specific Outcomes or assessment standards not yet met


• Recording documentation• Exemplars given• Centres should adapt, as

required to meet their own needs


• Assessment for candidates - task• Illustrative only• Centres encouraged to adapt to their own

contexts

Workshop 1Task 1Use 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 2Task 2Use 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

http://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

http://www.sqa.org.uk/cfedelivery

People and SocietyAdded 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


• 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 3Task 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

http://www.sqa.org.uk/cfedelivery

People and SocietyAdded 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


• 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


• 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 3Task 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

Qualifications Update: People and Society Qualifications Update: People and Society.

Documents

unit approach

value unit

unit4 unit structurenational

key ideas

assessment standards

common idea

reliable assessments

combined approach