2. SQA Quality Assurance
National Qualifications

3. SQA Quality Assurance session
1. NQ quality assurance
2. Workshop – quality assurance beyond
Two parts to this session:
Firstly, looking at our QA approach for next year, 2017/18
And then I’d like to spend a bit of time gathering your views about QA going forward. With changes to the assessment of national qualifications over the coming years, we are considering carefully what we do with the quality assurance approach we have and we are keen to gather views from you about some of the key questions we are thinking about

4. Quality Assurance of internal assessment
Value of qualifications
Fairness for all centres and candidates
Protect the interests of candidates
Increase assessors’ confidence in making assessment decisions
Confidence in outcomes of internal assessment
So a reminder of why we have QA.
There is a lot of work we do on the QA on external assessment, but obviously QA is much more visible to you of internal assessment

5. Changes to assessment of National Qualifications
Removal of mandatory units at National 5 ( ) Higher ( ) and Advanced Higher ( )
Greater focus on external assessment; reduced volume of internal assessment

6. Assessment of National 5 (current)
External Course Assessment
Unit Assessment
Internal Course assessment
Light blue bubbles indicate internal assessment
Some course have internal assessment, but the majority do not.

7. Changes to assessment of National 5 (from 2017/18)
External Course Assessment
Assessment
Internal Course
If courses have internal course assessment, they will look like this…
Note the substantial reduction in internal assessment.
If fact most courses will look like…

8. Changes to assessment of National 5 (from 2017/18)
External Course Assessment
This. If they only have external assessment.
Higher and Adv Higher will follow same process over next two years.

9. What does this mean for QA?
Robust QA process will remain in place for SQA qualifications, but naturally the volume of verification will reflect the overall reduction in internal assessment

10. QA : verification
The same basic approach as previous years, with two rounds of verification
Round 1 in February (units)
Round 2 in March-May (principally AVU / IACCAs, but also some units)
National 1–4 and SCQF Level 5 units will no longer be exempt from random selection for verification (but Higher and Advanced Higher will be exempt)
Same structure for verification as in previous years
R1 – February (focus on units at all levels). As in previous years, centres will either be selected for N1-2, N3-SCQF level 5 (formerly N5) or Higher-Adv Higher.
R2 – Mar to May (principally focussed on the N4 AVU, IACCAs (N5, H and AH), but we will also continue to do a proportion of unit verification then to ensure we have appropriate coverage. This includes of SCQF Level 5 units which may be picked up in either round.
With exception of Higher and Adv Higher units will no longer be exempt from ‘random’ selection for verification. We will continue to use proportionate and intelligence led approach to selection.
Annex B of the last ANQ announcement, where it states:
“Appropriate quality assurance processes, including the reintroduction of random sampling for verification of units, will need to be in place to ensure the integrity of unit and course certification”

11. QA 2017-18 cont The nominee system will close.
Our focus of support will be on delivery of revised courses.
Understanding standards materials are available to support internal assessment.
Appointees will undertake verification activity.
We have invested a great deal in building understanding of standards and capacity in the system, and we believe that this will continue to be of benefit to centres for years to come. With the reduction in unit assessment, however, we feel that our support offer should be directed differently. This was agreed in consultation with ADES.
US materials are available across our range of units and our CPD programme will support internal assessment, which may be requested via. local authorities.
Appointees will be used for all verification activity, but we will invite nominees to apply for these roles.

12. QA cont
Approval – if you are new to delivering these subjects you will need to request approval for:
National Courses: Care, Childcare, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Practical Metalworking, Practical Woodworking, Practical Electronics
All Skills for Work
Awards, NPAs, PDAs, NCs, Foundation Apprenticeship Awards
Deadline: 29 September 2017
Just a reminder about approval – please not that Practical Metalworking, Practical Woodworking, Practical Electronics are new to this list.
Approval is by level, but note that the Practical Metalworking, Practical Woodworking, Practical Electronics are only N5.

13. Q & A about

14. Changes to Scottish Education landscape
Developing Young Workforce
Partnership arrangements between centres
Reduced amount of internal assessment in National Courses
End of the period of Higher National and vocational qualifications QA
Digital evidence
I’d like to move on to the 2nd part of our session now.
So, to set a bit of background, some other things that are in our thinking in SQA about quality assurance:
DYW – centres using more vocationally focussed qualifications that our outside mainstream national courses, whether that Skills for Work, Awards, SVQs or other quals. These qualifications currently are quality assured using different quality assurance processes to CfE NQs
Increased partnership working between centres (college-school relationships or groups of centres)
HNVQ – some of you may be aware that the quality assurance approach we use outside of the school system for HNVQs is at the end of a self-defined period.
Digital assessment – it’ll be good to gather some feedback to you about how much of the internally assessment work you undertake is now for digital evidence.

15. QA beyond 2017/18
Desire to:
simplify interactions with centres working across qualification types
ensure equity in our approach to different centre types
recognise centres with mature and effective internal quality assurance systems
use digital evidence for verification
We are gathering views about the future of QA
Explain background from SQA’s perspective about using different types of QA for different quals and centres.
Explain we are using these conferences as an opportunity to start gathering feedback.

16. Workshop

17. Workshop questions
Would you prefer a rolling model of verification, or would you prefer a round based approach?
Would it simplify things for you and your centre if SQA used the same quality assurance approach for all qualification types?
What are your views about sharing work digitally for SQA to verify, rather than providing physical copies?
These are very much open questions, I’ll gather these views
Prompts:
1 – explain rolling programme of visiting verification vs round approach currently used
Note differences between course (iacca) and units and that unit assessment is better suited to
2 – Have you experience of different systems?
Do you work with other centres to deliver, assess and internally verify courses currently? Would you like SQA to recognise these relationships?
3 – What do you see as barriers to this?
4 Any other questions / comments????