2. National 5 Computing Science Specimen Question Paper

3. Aims of this session
To support teachers, lecturers and assessors in their understanding of the requirements of the question paper component, in the revised course assessment for computing science by focussing on the specimen question paper.
To provide opportunities for delegates to:
ask questions and seek clarification
discuss the revised requirements with colleagues

4. Question paper component
110 marks instead of 90 marks
Section 1 – short-answer questions (25 marks)
Section 2 – context based questions (85 marks)
Mark ranges:
34 – 44 marks for software design and development (SDD)
20 – 35 marks for database design and development (DDD)
20 – 35 marks for web design and development (WDD)
12 – 20 marks for (computer systems)

5. Question paper component
The assignment and question paper are developed together to ensure balance of sampling.
30% of the questions in the question paper are described as ‘A’ discriminator questions.
questions 14(c), 17(b), 17(c), 19(e) and 20(b) are examples of these

6. Implementation - writing code
Writing code will be predominantly assessed in the assignment.
Where code is asked to be written in the question paper there will be scaffolding.
Candidates are being assessed on their understanding of the use of constructs.
Candidates have never been, and will not be, penalised for syntax errors.

7. Question 14(c) Is testing that candidates recognise:
when it’s more appropriate to use 1d arrays
when it’s more appropriate to use a fixed loop
the standard algorithm for a running total within a loop
Candidates apply their understanding of efficient use of coding constructs using the given code to direct them.

8. Possible answer For loop is 1 TO 7 GET day(loop)
total = total + day(loop)
Average = total / 7
This response is not syntactically correct but gets full marks as it:
uses a fixed loop
has an input
uses a 1d array
has a running total within the loop
calculates the average correctly

9. Question 15(b) Is testing that candidates:
recognise the format of CSS rules
can edit a CSS rule for different circumstances
Candidates not writing CSS rule from scratch but editing the CSS rule that has already been given.
In this case the syntax has to be correct as it’s given in the question.

10. Possible answer
h1 { font-size: 20px; font-family: “Time New Roman”; text-align: center; }
p { font-size: 10px; font-family: “Helvetica”; text-align: left;

11. Question 18(b) Is testing that candidates recognise:
the format of HTML for lists
the need for opening and closing tags
Candidates not writing HTML from scratch but placing the tags in the right place.
In this case the syntax has to be correct as it’s given in the question.

12. Reading and explaining code
Questions may involve reading and explaining code in:
software design and development
database design and development
web design and development
Question 4 – read and understanding code (SQA Reference Language)
Question 17(b)(c), 20(b) – read and understand SQL
Question 18(c)(d) – read and understand HTML and CSS

13. Software design
Design questions may ask candidates to solve a problem using one of the three design techniques:
Structure diagram
Flowchart
Pseudocode
For examples of design techniques, see Appendix 1 of the Computing Science Course Support Notes.
Please note SQA Reference Language is not a design technique

14. Example question 16(b)
Is testing that candidates can design an efficient solution to a problem.
Looking for the main points of a correct design:
selection constructs
conditions correct
tax rate assigned
efficient solution

15. Example question 19(e)
Is testing that candidates can design an efficient solution to a standard algorithm.
Looking for the main points of a correct design:
Input of string
Conditional loop
Condition length = 3 characters
Error message

16. Software design
Design questions may require candidates to read and understand any of the three design techniques.
For example:
Question 19(a) and 19(b) – pseudocode
Question 20 – structure diagram

17. Database design Design questions may involve completing a:
data entity relationship
data dictionary
query design
For examples of database design, see Appendices 5, 6 and 7 of the Course Support Notes.

18. Database design Question 17(a) – Data entity relationship
completing an entity relationship diagram
Question 20(a) – Data dictionary
understanding of primary and foreign keys
Question 20(c) – Design a query
Completing the design query

19. Web design
Design questions may involve designing a web page using wire-framing.
For examples of web user-interface design, see Appendix 10 of the Course Support Notes.

20. Question 15(a)
Is testing whether candidates can extract information from a given scenario and apply wire-frame design technique with knowledge of file types.
Wire-frame location of graphic with file type
Wire-frame location of text
Wire-frame location of video interview with file type

21. Past paper questions
In your packs we have provided you with a table showing which areas of the course specification match previously issued exam questions.
You will note that in the majority of cases the questions are similar to previous National 5 questions.

22. Any questions ?
If you haven’t managed to get an answer to any of your questions today, please write it on a post-it note and stick it on the flipchart, with your name and address and we’ll get back to you.