2. Understanding Standards: Business Management National 5
An overview of course assessment
Purple = R204 G153 B209 & Dark Blue =R0 G51 B102

3. What this presentation covers
Course assessment – summary
Question paper – format
Assignment – summary
Assignment – mark allocation
Assignment – resources
Assignment – supervision and control
Assignment – authentication
Assignment – reasonable assistance
Assignment – unreasonable assistance
Assignment – appendices

4. Revised National Qualification
Course assessment – summary
National Qualification
Revised National Qualification
Question paper 70 90
Assignment 30
Total marks
100
120

5. Revised National Qualification
Question paper – format
National Qualification
Revised National Qualification
Total marks 70 90
Proportion of course marks
70%
75%
Section 1
30 marks
2 x 15 marks (integrated)
40 marks
2 x 20 marks (integrated)
Section 2
4 x 10
(4 topics sampled)
50 marks
5 x 10
(all 5 topics sampled)
Timing
1 hour 30 minutes
2 hours
Undertaken
During main exam diet
Marked
Marked externally by SQA

6. National Qualification Revised National Qualification
Assignment – summary
National Qualification
Revised National Qualification
Total marks 30
Proportion of course marks
30%
25%
Evidence required
Up to 4 pages plus up to 2 pages of appendices
Up to 1,300 words plus up to 2 pages of appendices
Excess content penalty
Referred to senior examiner
If more than 10% above 1,300 words, a penalty is applied
Timing
4 hours research + 1 hour write up
5 hours in total
(excluding field research)
Issued
Assignment task is the same each year
Marked
Marked externally by SQA

7. Assignment – mark allocation
National Qualification
Revised National Qualification
Background information 4
Research methods and sources 6
Analysis and interpretation 12
Findings, analysis and interpretation
Conclusions 5
Conclusions/Recommendations
Collating and reporting 3 2

8. National Qualification Revised National Qualification
Assignment – resources
National Qualification
Revised National Qualification
Open book – there are no restrictions on resources that candidates can access
Research and data collection may be collected as a group
Data collection and analysis must be completed individually
Field research can be carried out outwith the classroom setting and outwith the time allocated

9. National Qualification Revised National Qualification
Assignment – supervision and control
National Qualification
Revised National Qualification
Stage 1 – research – some supervision and control
Primary research – some supervision and control
Stage 2 – write up – a high degree of supervision
Secondary research, report preparation and completion – high degree of supervision and control
Excluding primary research – must be completed within centres

10. National Qualification Revised National Qualification
Assignment – authentication
National Qualification
Revised National Qualification
Regular checkpoint/progress meetings with candidates
Regular checkpoint meetings with candidates
Short spot-check personal interviews with candidates
Short spot-check interviews with candidates
Checklists recording activity/progress
Photographs, film or audio evidence

11. Assignment – reasonable assistance
National Qualification
Revised National Qualification
Advising candidates on the choice of a topic/area to research
Advise candidates on the choice of topic and organisation to research
Advise candidates on possible sources of information
Clarify instructions/requirements of the assignment
Advise candidates on the likely availability and accessibility of resources for their chosen topic
Advise candidates on how best to structure their business report
Feedback on interim progress

12. Assignment – unreasonable assistance
National Qualification
Revised National Qualification
Provide candidates with full exemplar assignments
Direct candidates to specific text within an article/PDF, etc
Tell candidates what analysis they can deduce from a research finding
Read and mark drafts

13. National Qualification Revised National Qualification
Assignment – appendices
National Qualification
Revised National Qualification
Website addresses used in research
Statistical, graphical or numerical data
Interview questions and/or responses
Questionnaire/Survey questions and/or results
Extracts/photos/images from appropriate websites
Notes taken from a visit or a talk
Notes taken from an audio-visual source
Newspaper article or extracts