The
Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) (Scottish Gaelic: Ùghdarras Teisteanasan na h-Alba) is a
non-departmental public bodyPublic bodies of the Scottish Government are organisations that are funded by the Scottish Government. It includes executive and advisory non-departmental public bodies ; tribunals; and nationalised industries....
responsible for accreditation and awarding. It is partly funded by the Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate of the Scottish Government, employing 750 staff, based in
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and
DalkeithDalkeith is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the River North Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540...
. Students for
National Qualifications receive their results on, generally, the first Tuesday in August. Students signed up for the authority's
MySQA system are able to check their record online throughout the year and get their exam results by text and/or email on the day that the results are issued. Those signed up to the service in 2010 received their results one day earlier than the official postal results.
SQA is one of the four partner national organisations involved in Curriculum for Excellence. It works with partners on all strands of the development. Its principal role is to contribute to work on qualifications and assessment. SQA’s role in Curriculum for Excellence is to design and develop the new qualifications and assessment.
SQA is perhaps best known for the delivery of the annual diet of public examinations within Scotland; each year the Authority organises public examinations in a wide range of subjects, at various levels, for school pupils and college students. However, a greater number of candidates of all ages participates in SQA specialist, vocational and higher education qualifications.
SQA Higher examinations are the general acceptable level for entry to University. Universities usually request a minimum of 3 Highers, all above C level.
The SQA's functions and responsibilities are laid out in the Education (Scotland) Act 1996 as amended by the Scottish Qualifications Act 2002.
National Qualifications
A National Qualification (NQ) can take the form of Standard Grades or National Courses.
Standard Grades have been in existence before the Higher Still reforms of 1999. There are three Standard Grade Levels: Foundation, General and Credit. They are normally set at age 14-15 (sometimes 16 if birthday is before May), usually when attending
High SchoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. For the main article, see
Standard GradeStandard Grades are Scotland's educational qualifications for students aged around 14 to 16 years, which are due to be fully replaced in 2014 when Scottish Qualifications Authority's Higher Still system becomes the main qualifications as part of the major shake up of Scotland's education system as...
.
National Courses have been introduced with the Higher Still reforms of 1999. There are seven National Courses: Access 1, Access 2, Access 3,
Intermediate 1Intermediate 1 is an educational qualification in Scotland on the Scottish Qualifications Authority Scottish Qualifications Certificate achievement ladder similar to General Level at Standard Grades; it is the next step after Access 3...
,
Intermediate 2Intermediate 2 level is Level 5 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. Though equivalent to the Credit Level Standard Grade, there is an element of debate to this as it is perceived to be more difficult in some subjects, but less in others....
,
HigherIn Scotland the Higher is one of the national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. It superseded the old Higher Grade on the Scottish Certificate of Education...
(normally at age 15-18) and Advanced Higher (normally at age 17-18). Intermediate 1 and 2 and Access 3 are either set at age 16 in place of Standard Grade in some schools or at ages 16–18 in addition to Highers and Advanced Highers. National Courses can be taken in a wide range of subjects, from the purely academic, such as
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and
MathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
- to the purely vocational, such as Accounting and
Mental Health CareMental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
. They combine three National Units, each lasting 40 hours with a Course Assessment, normally taken at the end of a one-year Course in the early summer.
In addition to traditional National Qualification Courses, a new suite of "pre-vocational" courses entitled "Skills for Work" was rolled out in 2006. Primarily available at Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2 levels, these prevocational courses, aim to give students an awareness of the workplace environment, the skills required for entry to an industry as well as generic employment skills.
Each of these Courses is awarded on the
Scottish Qualifications CertificateThe Scottish Qualifications Certificate is the successor to the Scottish Certificate of Education and the Record of Education and Training in Scotland, and is the main educational qualification awarded to students in secondary, further, and vocational education. The SQC is awarded by the Scottish...
.
Many faculties that provide SQA National Courses also provide preliminary examinations, or
Prelim ExamsIn Scottish schools, Preliminary Examinations are exams set in high schools after about two-thirds of a subject's course has been completed, often around December for S4 pupils, and February for S5/S6 pupils....
. A prelim examination provides the opportunity for a candidate to demonstrate PS skills and integration across units. NAB’s are not of a sufficient standard to be used for appeal evidence, they do not demonstrate integration or give candidates the opportunity to demonstrate problem solving skills.
Any prelim should replicate the style, level of demand and mark allocation of specimen and past SQA examinations. Centres that carry out an integrated test or prelim covering only the two mandatory units of Using Information and Relational Databases, should also consider an additional test covering the optional unit with some additional questions integrating knowledge and understanding from the two mandatory units. A second prelim on Multimedia for example, should also include a question on databases and one sampling content from the Using Information unit.
While it is acceptable for a centre to generate its own test materials, past SQA papers or commercial papers from previous years, must not be used in their entirety. This will completely invalidate any appeal: Link to Estimates, Absentees and Assessment Apeals. It is recommended that a minimum of three sources are used, and questions chosen should sample across the course as indicated above. Sources for the questions used should be clearly identified if papers are submitted for appeal purposes.
Any mark scheme used should be adhered to rigidly. It is important that all teachers within a centre mark to the same standard. A large number of appeals are rejected each year because of leniency in applying the mark scheme. Candidates must use the correct terms and answers must link in to scenarios if asked – vague answers on the right track cannot be awarded marks.
Prelim exams usually take place in January or February, or even in late November or December; although this is usually only the in the case of Standard Grades, many months before the diet of official examinations.
National units and programmes
Most important to the integrated Scottish system are the many qualifications often imperfectly referred to as
vocational, though these are frequently steppinggroup of students at Scottish Colleges of Further Education pursue one- or two- year programmes tailored from a wide ranging catalogue of
National Units. The actual programme may be very rigidly prescribed by employers or be entirely freely chosen by the student to meet particular needs. The prescribed programmes may be recognised by a
National Certificate or a
Scottish Progression Award.
SVQs and modern apprenticeships
Scottish Vocational QualificationA Scottish Vocational Qualification, or SVQ, is a certificate of vocational education in Scotland. SVQs are available to people of all ages. SVQs are developed by Sector Skills Councils, in partnership with industry and awarding bodies...
s (SVQ) are an award for
vocational educationVocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
and training awarded by the SQA or other approved awarding bodies in conjunction with industry bodies. Scottish National Qualifications and Scottish Progression Awards are often important in a Modern Apprenticeship scheme along with SVQs. SVQs are developed by
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
employers in tandem with
National Vocational QualificationNational Vocational Qualifications are work based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. In Scotland they are known as Scottish Vocational Qualification ....
s (NVQ) for
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
SVQ are assessed in the workplace (or closely regulated training workshops) by employers, training providers or colleges approved and monitored by the SQA (or other awarding bodies) accredited by its independent
Accreditation Unit.
Higher National Certificates and Diplomas
Qualifications aimed at students in their first two years of
Higher EducationHigher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
include
HNCs (
Higher National CertificateA Higher National Certificate is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom.In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the HNC is a BTEC qualification awarded by Edexcel, and in Scotland, an HNC is a Higher National awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority...
s)- taken as a one year full-time course or as a two year part-time course - and
HNDs (
Higher National DiplomaA Higher National Diploma is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. This qualification can be used to gain entry into universities, and is considered equivalent to the first or second year of a university degree course....
s. These qualifications are extremely popular in colleges, workplaces and community education centres in Scotland, the rest of the UK and throughout the world.
Students with Disabilities and/or Additional Support Needs
These include specific qualifications for those with severe to moderate difficulties (
Access), the right to aid in completing assessments (for example, a scribe) and the right to challenge any unfair or artificial barrier in the rules for any qualification
English as a second language
There is a suite of National Units addressing the needs of economic migrants, asylum seekers and (the biggest group) those seeking to master English before returning to their own countries. It has also developed qualifications for those seeking to teach English to refugees.
British Sign Language
A suite on National Units answers the needs of those who prefer to communicate in
British Sign LanguageBritish Sign Language is the sign language used in the United Kingdom , and is the first or preferred language of some deaf people in the UK; there are 125,000 deaf adults in the UK who use BSL plus an estimated 20,000 children. The language makes use of space and involves movement of the hands,...
Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
SQA has joined with Universities Scotland,
QAA ScotlandEstablished in 1997, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education works to ensure that higher education qualifications in the United Kingdom are of a sound standard. It protects the public interest by checking how universities and colleges maintain their academic standards and quality...
and the Scottish Government to create the
Scottish Credit and Qualifications FrameworkThe Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework is the national credit transfer system for all levels of qualifications in Scotland...
or SCQF. Every Scottish qualification - from the Access level for those with learning difficulties to a Doctorate and including vocational as well as ESOL and BSL qualifications - is allocated a level and credit value within this framework, which all partners have agreed to recognise.
Responsibilities
SQA has a statutory responsibility to provide public examinations for Scottish state schools, though these are also used more widely. It has a statutory responsibility to
accredit vocational qualifications (that is formally scrutinise them and confirm that they conform to agreed UK criteria). None of its qualifications, still less its vocational qualifications, is protected by statute, but the Authority has a largely dominant position within all sectors of qualifications within Scotland. SQA awards are exported to a number of countries including
ChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
,
AfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, the
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
,
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and former Soviet republics and other countries. SQA also provides the licensing certification for many merchant navies throughout the world.
Layout of the Examinations
SQA has had the same basic layout for over 15 years now, since the replacement of O levels by the newer Standard Grades in 1990s and Intermediates/Highers in the early 2000s. Each examination level has its own colour which the examination is printed on: for example: Intermediate 1 is blue, Intermediate 2 is Green, Standard Grade is Yellow, and Higher is Pink and so on.
National Assessment Bank
Since the introduction of Highers, Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2 courses, the SQA have also introduced a
National Assessment BankNational Assessment Banks, commonly referred to as NABs after the National Assessment Bank from which these assessments are selected by teachers, are internal assessments that form part of the Scottish Higher and Intermediate courses. These are assessed by a centre and are moderated by the SQA...
of short examinations for each subject. These are more commonly known as NABs or unit assessments, and contain questions from specific academic units at a basic level. Each candidate must pass a certain number of NABs (usually three) before they can be presented for the final examination, although resits can occur with other NAB materials.
The National Assessment Bank materials are available for download as Word or PDF files on a secure SQA website. The only person who can enter the site is the SQA coordinator of each institution.
History
Up until their merger in 1997, the two major Scottish examination authorities were the SEB (Scottish Examination Board) and the Scottish Vocational Education Council (SCOTVEC). It is the former of the two that issued the Standard Grade and Higher Grade examinations. The year after Higher Grade was called CSYS (Certificate of Sixth Year Studies) until a reform of Scottish exams (the National Qualifications or Higher Still reforms) replaced it with a broadly equivalent qualification called Advanced Higher. Some curriculum changes were also made to the Higher, but this was not renamed.
A legacy of its two precursor bodies, the Authority's offices remain split over two sites, one in
GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and one in
DalkeithDalkeith is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the River North Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540...
.
Controversy
The introduction of the reformed examinations system in 2000 was criticised in the press and by the government after a series of administrative and computer errors led to several thousand incorrect Higher and Intermediate certificates being sent out. The crisis took several months to resolve, and several management figures including the Chief Executive Ron Tuck resigned or were fired.
External links