Support for learners taking National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams

Tuesday 1 February 2022

A package of support services – including some help for learners with exam revision – will be available for learners who are taking National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher courses in 2022.

As we advised centres on 13 January, it is still the clear intention for SQA exams to take place during April to June.

The additional support we are announcing today follows the significant modifications we made to the course assessments at the start of session 2021-22 to help reduce the volume of assessment and ease the workload of learners, teachers, lecturers, and training providers.

We have continued to closely monitor the levels of disruption to learning and teaching across the country, including learner and staff absences. As a result, following discussion with our partners across the education system, and agreement by the SQA Board, we are moving to Scenario 2. This means that we will publish some revision support for learners to help them with their revision during the final run up to their exams.

We will publish the revision support during week beginning 7 March, as it is important that learners have had the opportunity to complete their courses and focus on their coursework before they turn their attention more fully towards preparing for exams.

Revision support will be available for all courses that have an exam. This support will be tailored to reflect the different content and styles of questions that are assessed in each question paper, as well as any modifications to the question papers that are already in place, both of which will help the learner.

A table showing the type of revision support that will be provided for each course is now available on our website.

Further support measures

We understand that learners, teachers, lecturers and training providers are continuing to feel the impact of the disruption to learning and teaching caused by the pandemic. We are also aware that learners may be apprehensive about sitting formal exams, following the absence of national exams since 2019.

We are continuing to work with our partners across the education system to introduce a series of measures that, coupled with the modifications already made to course assessments and the revision support being made available, will support learners to ensure they are awarded grades that are a fair reflection of their knowledge, understanding and skills, while also maintaining the credibility and standard of the qualifications.

Here is a summary of each of these measures:

• Exam exceptional circumstances service (available while exams are taking place)

This service will support learners who are unable to attend an exam due to a reason beyond their control, such as a medical condition (including Covid-19 related absence) or bereavement, or who are affected by disruption on the day of the exam as reported by the Chief Invigilator.

The exam exceptional circumstances service will involve SQA appointees ­­– practising teachers and lecturers – reviewing alternative assessment evidence that learners have completed through the year and judging it against the national standard for that course.

Schools, colleges and training providers will need to send this evidence to SQA.

• Grading (takes place once exams have been sat and marked)

In recognition of the disruption that learners have faced over the last two years, and the different approaches to assessment, this year we are prepared to be more generous in our approach to grading than in a normal exam year to factor in the impact of the pandemic on learners. In line with the approach being taken across the rest of the UK, we therefore expect that the overall outcomes in 2022 will represent an intermediary position between 2021 and pre-pandemic years.

Our approach to grading the exams in 2022 will be based on our established awarding processes. Using ‘grade boundaries’ – the marks needed to achieve an A, B or C grade in each course – we will check that each assessment was set at the right standard or level of difficulty, making sure learners are treated fairly and that their grades accurately reflect what they know and can do.

During the grade boundary setting process, SQA appointees – practising teachers and lecturers who are subject experts in each course – will look at all the available assessment evidence and course information, including the impact disruption has had on how learners have performed in the assessments, to determine the 2022 grade boundaries.

This process also maintains the integrity and credibility of the qualifications and ensures learners are awarded the results they deserve. This is of vital interest to all those who hold qualifications now, for those who will achieve them in the future, and for further and higher education establishments, employers and training providers.

• Appeals service 2022 (after results have been published)

All parts of the Scottish education system agree that, as in any year, it is important that there is an appeals service available for learners who want to question their SQA results.

In 2022, as with 2021, all learners will continue to have free direct access to the appeals service and a priority service will also be available for those applying to university, college, training or employment.

This year’s appeals service will involve SQA appointees – practising teachers and lecturers – who will review alternative assessment evidence that learners have completed through the year. This will be the same evidence as that used for an exam exceptional circumstances request, which will be judged against the same national standard for that course. SQA will also conduct a clerical check on the exam script. Schools, colleges and training providers will need to send the alternative assessment evidence to SQA.

Learners’ grades through the appeals process will be based upon the higher grade of the two types of evidence.

These measures underpin the 2022 exam diet and taken together are the fairest way to help support learners to demonstrate their level of knowledge, understanding and skills for each course, while also ensuring a balance between recognising the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and maintaining the integrity and credibility of the qualifications.

Equality and children’s rights impact assessments have been carried out on the additional support services, including their impact on learners and other stakeholders. These assessments will be published alongside full details of each service in the coming weeks.

For these measures – and particularly the appeals 2022 service - to support all learners fairly, everyone in the education system will need to play their full part in making sure they work effectively. We have worked with our partners across the Scottish education system to agree specific roles and responsibilities for everyone involved in delivering these measures.

Appendix: Q&A

Why are you publishing the revision support in March? Why not publish now?

It is important that learners have had the opportunity to complete the learning for their courses and focus on their coursework before their attention moves more fully to preparing for exams. It is also important that this information is not provided too far in advance to avoid the narrowing of learning and teaching, which would negatively impact learners’ breadth of course knowledge and understanding, and the next steps in their learning.

Why do different courses have different types of revision support?

This is because the question papers (exams) are different for each course – they assess different types and volume of knowledge, understanding and skills, and contain different questions that are focused on the learning of specific courses. The revision support will also take account of any modifications we made to the question papers at the start of the session, which also vary between courses.

In some courses we will advise learners which topic(s), context(s) or content will or will not be assessed in the exam. This will allow learners to focus their revision on what will be in the exam. It is not possible to take this same approach for courses where the exam will assess content from across the whole course or where the topics or content cannot be separated easily. For some courses, this additional information has already been provided.

For other courses we will provide study guides, with hints and tips to help learners prepare for the exams. A small number of courses will have study guides which learners can take into the exam, where appropriate.

Why aren’t you providing revision support for all courses?

We are providing revision support for all courses that have an exam. Some courses will not have revision support either because they don’t have an exam or because we removed the exam for 2022 as part of the modifications to assessment.

Will modifications be made to the timing of exams if the current situation continues, to give centres and learners more time to catch up on learning and/or topics missed due to illness or isolation?

No. The timing of the exams cannot be moved for a range of reasons, including allowing sufficient time for marking and informing learners of their results in good time to make decisions about their next steps.

Why won’t this year’s exam exceptional circumstances service include disruption in the lead up to exams?

We had already anticipated that learners across the country would be affected by ongoing disruption to learning and teaching this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To address this, we made significant modifications to the course assessments (coursework and exams) at the start of the session to help reduce the volume of assessment and ease learner workload.

We are also providing revision support for learners in response to further disruption to learning and teaching, to help learners prepare during the lead up to the 2022 exams.

What if a learner is self-isolating at the time of the exam?

If a learner is unable to attend the exam because they are self-isolating, they will be eligible for the exam exceptional circumstances service. This service covers Covid-19 related absence, including personal illness and self-isolation, in line with current public health guidance.

We will ensure our specific guidance for this service, in relation to Covid-19, is kept up to date to reflect any changes in public health guidance.

Will SQA take different approaches to reviewing alternative assessment evidence for the exceptional circumstances and appeals services?

No, we will use the same approach for both services. The evidence will be judged against the national standard for that course

How is the 2022 appeals service different from the post-results service that normally operates after exams?

The 2022 appeals service will involve SQA appointees reviewing alternative assessment evidence that the learner has completed through the year. SQA will also conduct a clerical check on the exam script. Learners' grades through the appeals process will be based on the higher grade of the two types of evidence. All learners will have free direct access to the 2022 appeals service.

No alternative evidence is considered as part of the post-results service that normally operates following an exam diet. The post-results service involves a clerical check or marking review of the learner’s exam script to check that the learner was awarded the correct grade, and requests can only be made by centres.

Does moving to Scenario 2 mean the exams are going ahead or could they still be cancelled?

It is still the clear intention for the 2022 exams to take place during April to June. Moving to Scenario 2 means that SQA will publish revision support in early March to help learners with their revision during the final run up to the exams. The Scottish Government will only cancel the exams if public health advice restricts physical gatherings at the time the exams are due to take place.

If exams are cancelled, when will that decision be made and communicated?

Exams will not be cancelled unless public health restrictions mean that physical gatherings are not permitted at the time of exams. This decision cannot be taken until nearer the time when the public health situation is clear.

What happens if the exams are cancelled?

If the exams are cancelled, we will move to Scenario 3. This means teachers, lecturers and training providers will be asked to determine a provisional result for each learner, based on their professional judgement of alternative assessment evidence.

This alternative assessment evidence is assessments that learners have already completed during the course, such as prelims, practical activities, performances, and class tests – and which teachers and lecturers have already used as a basis for determining estimate grades.

There will be no requirement for schools, colleges, and training providers to undertake additional assessments if the exams are cancelled, as this would place excess workload on teachers, lecturers, training providers and learners.

What will each subject be told?

SQA UPDATES 1st February

FROM THE SQA TO CENTRES (SCHOOLS) 

As the new term progresses, SQA is acutely aware of the impact the pandemic continues to have on learning and teaching as well as on you and your learners’ experience of working towards National Qualifications in 2021-22.

SQA Exams

It is still the clear intention for the 2022 SQA exams to take place in April – June. Exams will only be cancelled by the Scottish Government if public health advice restricts physical gatherings at the time of the exams. We are closely monitoring the educational impact of the pandemic with our partners on the Covid-19 Education Recovery Group so that we can continue to provide as much support as possible for learners, most of whom will be sitting exams for the first time.

Clear contingency measures and plans, to deal with the kind of disruption currently being experienced, have been in place since the start of the 2021-22 session, and communicated to schools, colleges, training providers, learners, parents and carers.

In August 2021, we published significant modifications for each course which mean less assessment than in a ‘normal’ exam year and more time for learning and teaching.

These modifications already play a significant part in supporting learners who are studying National Qualifications this year.

Revision support for learners

We are actively monitoring levels of disruption across the country, including levels of learner and staff absence. If significant levels of disruption continue, we will soon move to what has been referred to in previous communications as Scenario 2, which means supporting learners with their final revision in the immediate run-up to the exams.

In this scenario, revision support, for example guidance on topics, will be provided to help learners maximise their exam performance and reduce exam stress. There will not be any further changes to courses or course assessments, over and above those already in place through the existing modifications.

If we move to Scenario 2, revision support will be issued in March for most courses, to allow as much time as possible for learning and teaching. The type of revision support will differ across courses, depending on the assessment approach and the modifications made at the start of the session. We will provide more information as soon as these are finalised.

We know that you, your learners and their parents/carers will have questions and Appendix 1 contains a Q&A to help answer some of these. Please be assured that we will continue to work with partners and listen to colleagues working in schools, colleges and training providers to help support you and your learners as we progress towards the 2022 exam diet.

Appendix 1: Q&A

When will a decision on moving to Scenario 2 be made and on what basis? 

Given the current levels of disruption, a decision is likely to be made soon based on information such as national teacher and pupil absence levels. That information, which is provided weekly to the Covid-19 Education Recovery Group, chaired by the Scottish Government, will inform SQA’s decision to move to Scenario 2.   

When will learners, parents and centres be told that a decision has been made?  

If the decision is taken to move to Scenario 2 then this decision will be communicated to centres, learners and parents/carers as soon as is practicable and further advice made available on the types of revision support that will be provided. For some courses, this would be in the form of advice and guidance on what topics learners should focus their revision on to maximise their performance in exams. 

When will centres, learners and parents/carers be given the revision support materials?  

Learners will be given the support materials in March to aid their revision ahead of the Easter holidays. We will endeavour to give you early notice of the support materials for each exam so you can support your learners. It is important that this information is not provided too far in advance to avoid the narrowing of learning and teaching which will negatively impact learners’ breadth of course knowledge/understanding and the next steps in their learning. 

What will centres need to do? 

Revision support is primarily aimed at learners but as you are aware you have a critical role to play in supporting your learners and helping them understand how to use the support materials to maximise their exam performance. 

What additional support will be given to centres and learners impacted by significant staff and/or pupil isolation?  

It is important to remember that the significant modifications already made to courses this year are designed to address the ongoing disruption to learning and teaching. Additional revision support, if provided, would provide further support.  

If exams are cancelled when will that decision be made and communicated? 

Exams will not be cancelled unless public health restrictions mean that physical gatherings are not permitted at the time of exams. Clearly this decision cannot be taken until nearer the time when the public health situation is clear but the Scottish Government has indicated that this will be the end of March at the latest. 

Will modifications be made to the timing of exams if the current situation continues to give centres/learners more time to catch up on learning/topics missed due to illness/ isolation? 

No. The timing of the exams cannot be moved for a range of reasons, including allowing sufficient time for marking and informing learners of their results in good time to make decisions about their next steps. 

Will modifications be made to actual examination papers if the current situation continues to give centres and learners pupils more time to catch up on learning and teaching missed due to illness/ isolation? 

No but the revision support, if provided, will help learners focus their revision and maximise their performance in exams. 

“Should the Scottish Government cancel the exams due to public health restrictions at the time of exams, we will enter Scenario 3. That means the evidence you are gathering through normal in-year assessment to determine your learners’ estimates can be used to form the basis of their provisional results” Can we have further clarity and exemplification of what this means? Just Practice Exams/ Prelims or can it be class assessments etc? Will we be able to use professional judgement as we did in covid year 1?  

Advice on this was provided to centres last term in SQA’s refreshed estimates guidance.