Introducing Unit Specifications and Unit Assessment Support Packs National 3, 4 and 5

Unit Assessment  Assessments can be designed to provide evidence across more than one Unit or Outcome – combined assessments  Flexible and open Evidence Requirements in Units  Greater range of techniques and methodologies for assessment – encouraged through Unit assessment support packages  More opportunities to gather naturally occurring evidence – assessment as part of learning and teaching

Unit Structure - Lifeskills Lifeskills

Unit Structure - Mathematics Mathematics

Key points: Mathematics Units  equips learners with the skills needed to interpret and analyse information, simplify and solve problems, and make informed decisions  has a skills-based Unit structure, with reasoning skills developed within all Units  provides opportunities for combined assessment in the Units  has an embedded Numeracy Unit at National 4  has a hierarchical Unit structure that provides progression from National 4 to Higher  has a test as the added value assessment at National 4, and question papers at National 5 and Higher

Key points: Lifeskills Units  develops confidence and independence in being able to handle information and mathematical tasks in both personal life and in the workplace  has mathematical skills underpinned by numeracy and is designed to develop learners’ mathematical reasoning skills relevant to learning, life and work  provides opportunities in Units for combined assessment  has a hierarchical Unit structure that provides progression from National 2 to National 5  has a test as the added value assessment at National 4, and question papers at National 5

Unit Specifications – N3 Unit: Shape, Space and Measures Outcome 1 Use shape and space in basic real-life contexts  Assessment Standards  Calculating and using the perimeter and area of a regular 2D shape  Calculating and using the volume of a cuboid  Giving or following directions  Working with simple patterns

Evidence Requirements for this Unit:  Assessors should use their professional judgement, subject knowledge and experience, and understanding of their candidates, to determine the most appropriate ways to generate evidence. There should be sufficient evidence for the assessor to make a judgement that the candidate has achieved the Unit. This is likely to include the candidate’s written answers and relevant working. Unit Specifications – N3 Unit: Shape, Space and Measures Outcome 1 Use shape and space in basic real-life contexts

For this Unit learners will be required to provide evidence for:  calculating and using the perimeter and area of a regular 2D shape  calculating and using the volume of a cuboid  giving or following directions  working with simple patterns Unit Specifications – N3 Unit: Shape, Space and Measures Outcome 1 Use shape and space in basic real-life contexts

Unit Assessment Support Packages - purpose UASPs can be used to: Assess your candidates Adapt for your own assessment programmes Help you develop your own assessments

Unit Assessment Support Packages UASPs – 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 Mathematics & Lifeskills UASPs Package 1  Unit by Unit assessment – Unit Assessment Support for each individual Unit in a Course, covering all of the Outcomes and Assessment Standards. Package 2  Combined assessment – supports a combined approach to assessment which can be effective for gathering evidence across a number of Units of a Course Package 3  Portfolio – supports a portfolio approach by providing information on judging evidence for assessment covering all Outcomes and Assessment Standards for all the Units in a Course

National 4 Added Value Unit  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  Controlled assessment –setting conducting and marking

N4 AV Unit: Mathematics Apply mathematical skills in straightforward contexts by:  Using operational and reasoning skills to determine solutions in mathematical or real-life situations  Internally marked pass or fail and at least half of operational and reasoning points required to pass

N4 AV Unit: Lifeskills Apply mathematical skills in straightforward real-life contexts by:  Using operational and reasoning skills to determine solutions to real-life situations involving mathematics  Internally marked - at least half of the reasoning opportunities and half of the operational opportunities required to pass.

Moving on  Workshop 1 and 2 will give you the opportunity to look at in more detail : –Unit Specifications –Unit Assessment Support Packages