Qualifications 2020 - your questions answered

The guidance in this section is currently relevant to the following SQA qualifications:

• National 2 to National 5 courses
• Highers
• Advanced Highers
• Scottish Baccalaureate Interdisciplinary Project unit
• National Certificates (NC)
• National Progression Awards (NPA)
• Skills for Work courses
• Awards

Following the latest medical and scientific advice, The Scottish Government decided to cancel the exam diet due to social distancing and to keep everyone safe.

We did think about this however, as we don't know when your school or college will reopen, the Deputy First Minister asked SQA to look at another way to produce your results.

Experienced teachers and lecturers will review all the evidence that is available to them to assess whether you have met the course aims. They have a strong understanding of your performance and know how you compare to other learners in each department, and in previous years.

Your teachers and/or lecturers will take account of any available work that you have completed throughout the course. Using their teaching experience, and their knowledge of your work and your progress so far, they will make an estimate of the grade you would have achieved under normal circumstances.

Estimate grades will be based on how well you have demonstrated the required skills, knowledge and understanding for each course at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher. We will then have the information we need to adjust estimates where necessary, and to ensure consistency — both across the country and in comparison, with previous years.

On Monday 20 April, we sent detailed guidance to your school or college on how to determine and submit this estimate information to us.

On Monday 20 April, we sent detailed guidance to your school or college on how to determine and submit this estimate information to us.

We expect your teachers or lecturers to discuss your estimated grade with another teacher and senior member of staff before sending it to us by Friday 29 May.

No. SQA does not need schools and colleges to set any more prelims or mock exams, or homework tasks to estimate your grade.

It’s also important to remember that it is not necessary for teachers and lecturers to mark any other work that would have been externally marked by SQA.

National 2, National 3 and National 4 qualifications are made up of units (including an Added Value Unit at National 4) which are internally assessed as pass or fail by the school or college, and externally quality assured by SQA.

Schools and colleges will continue to send us your unit results based on either existing evidence from assessments that have already been completed, and/or by using their teaching experience of your work from through the year. The same arrangement applies to the Scottish Baccalaureate Interdisciplinary Project unit.

For National Certificates, National Progression Awards, Skills for Work courses, and other Awards, we are asking schools, colleges, employers and training providers to provide us with the results of their internal assessment decisions (where some evidence from the course already exists but further progress is not possible) using their teaching experience of your work through the year.

Coursework for Higher and Advanced Higher courses are submitted later in the year, so as a result of the current public health advice on social distancing, you may not be able to complete it and we would not be able to receive it and mark it.

We looked at the possibilities of marking National 5 coursework that we had already received, however it became clear that we could not go ahead with marking it in a way that was safe and secure for the hundreds of markers who work with us over the course of the exam diet, or in a way that ensures all results are viewed with the same importance as those from previous and future years.

We know this will be disappointing news. But we have taken this difficult decision to be as fair as possible to all learners, whilst responding to and following the latest public health guidance.

Results day will be no later than Tuesday 4 August as originally planned for National Courses and awards, National Certificates, National Progression Awards and Skills for Work courses.

We strongly recommend that you sign-up to MySQA to receive your results by text and/or email. If you have already received your results through MySQA previously, you will continue to do so, and we recommend that you review check your profile to make sure your contact details are correct up to date.

A free appeals service will be available for your school or college to use if you disagree with your result.

Yes. SQA is in regular discussion with UCAS (the University and College Admission Service), Colleges Scotland, and Universities Scotland, who are fully aware of the situation and will help you to progress on to the next stage of your education or employment.

We are also in close discussion with Skills Development Scotland, to ensure employers and their representatives are kept aware of the decisions being made.

Everyone at SQA is doing everything possible to ensure your hard work is rightly and fairly recognised.

A free appeals service will be available for your school or college to use if you disagree with your result.

Yes, as in any year, you can sit the exams next year if you wish. All results will be listed on your SQA record of attainment.

The information is relevant to the following SQA qualifications:

• Higher National Certificates (HNC)
• Higher National Diplomas (HND)
• National Certificates (NCs)
• National Progression Awards (NPAs)
• National Qualification (NQ) units, which may be part of college certificated courses.

As you know, face-to-face learning and teaching at colleges has stopped but arrangements have been made in many areas for learning to continue remotely — to enable you to complete your course successfully, despite the very challenging conditions we are all experiencing currently.

By continuing to engage in assessment opportunities, you will ensure that there is comprehensive assessment evidence available for your lecturers to refer to when they decide on a result for you.

Experienced lecturers will review all the available assessment evidence to assess whether you have met the course aims. Using this evidence, and their knowledge of your engagement and progress, your lecturer will determine your result based on your performance to-date.

College staff will take the necessary adjustments to make the assessment accessible for you. This will be done in partnership with college student support services. This could include, for example, the use of professional discussion instead of a written exercise if you normally require a scribe.

It is vital that any award made is supported by a rigorous and fair assessment process. Colleges are working to support you and to ensure that your hard work and achievements are rewarded.

We know that for some students there are particular barriers to continuing with learning, teaching, and assessments.

If there is already a significant amount of evidence in place for you, it may be possible for your lecturers to use this to predict your grade.

However, there may simply be insufficient evidence to allow lecturers to make that decision. If this is the case, your entry can be left open and you should be given the opportunity to engage in further learning, teaching and assessment when conditions allow.

Colleges are working to make sure that there is no detriment to learner funding entitlements in these situations.

Where it has not been possible to complete the Graded Unit (for example, you have no access to necessary resources or equipment due to the lock-down), college staff will use any Graded Unit work completed to date, plus a range of other assessment evidence, to predict and award a grade where it is possible to do so. This will depend on the quality and amount of evidence available.

If you feel that the assessment outcome reached does not accurately reflect your achievement, you will be able to submit an appeal following your college’s academic appeals process.

Where you have not achieved your award and this is considered a direct result of the impact of college closure, your entry can be left open and you should be given the opportunity to engage in further learning, teaching, and assessment when conditions allow.

Colleges are working to make sure that there is no detriment to learner funding entitlements in these situations.

This will depend on your individual progress. Staff would discuss with you the available options.

Yes. Your result and grade will result from a rigorous evidence-based assessment process.

This will be a valid result that reflects your achievement throughout your course.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 national examination timetable has been cancelled.

The Scottish Government has asked SQA to develop an alternative certification model. This will ensure that learners’ hard work is rightly and fairly recognised.

For this session, teachers and lecturers should continue to exercise their professional judgement and estimate a learner’s grade and band based on their demonstrated and inferred attainment of the required skills, knowledge and understanding for each National Course.

SQA will work to ensure learners receive their results no later than Tuesday 4 August. A free appeals service will be available to ensure that schools and colleges continue to have a mechanism to question any result, and guidance will be provided.

We also recommend that schools and colleges encourage their learners to sign up to MySQA to receive their NQ results by text and/or email. Any learner who has previously signed up to receive their results through MySQA will continue to do so, and we recommend that those learners review their profile to make sure their contact details are correct.

Higher and Advanced Higher

No. SQA has confirmed that schools and colleges are not required to submit learner coursework for marking for Higher and Advanced Higher courses.

Also, we do not require schools and colleges to submit marks for internally assessed coursework.

National 5

We confirmed earlier that National 5 coursework already submitted by schools and colleges will not be marked. We also do not require schools and colleges to submit marks for any internally assessed coursework.

National 2 – National 4

Schools and colleges should provide unit results, based on either existing evidence from assessments that have already been completed, and/or using their professional judgement of other learner evidence, including knowledge of their learners’ progress and achievements to date. The results should be submitted to SQA, in the normal way, by Friday 22 May for schools, and by Monday 1 June for colleges.

National Certificates, National Progression Awards, Skills for Work courses and Awards

We are asking schools, colleges, employers and training providers to provide us with the results of their internal assessment decisions (where some evidence from the course already exists but further progress is not possible), based on teaching staff’s professional judgement of learners’ work from throughout the year.

For this session, teachers and lecturers should continue to exercise their professional judgement and estimate a learner’s grade and band based on their demonstrated and inferred attainment of the required skills, knowledge and understanding for each National Course. There is no requirement for schools and colleges to set any more prelims or mock exams, or homework tasks for the purpose of determining an estimate grade.

It is also important to remember that it is not necessary for teachers and lecturers to mark any other work that would have been externally marked by SQA. An estimate is a judgement of a grade and band based on a holistic review of a learner’s performance in the assessment evidence available.

The integrity of the estimates we receive this year is very important as it will provide the core element of the certification process, in the absence of national performance data such as marked question papers, and non-question paper components.

Therefore, to assist SQA in the awarding and certification process for 2020, we are taking steps to refine the existing system and ensure it is as fair and robust as possible. Firstly, we will be subdividing each existing band and asking teachers and lecturers to place their learners within these band categories. Secondly, we will be asking teachers and lecturers to rank order their learners within each estimated grade. 

This will provide us with the information needed to allow us to adjust estimates where necessary, to ensure consistency both across the country and in comparison, with previous years. 

This process may be informed by previous subject and qualification performance at both a national and centre level and prior attainment information where that is available. 

Detailed guidance to schools and colleges on how to determine and submit refined estimate information is now available:

Information on Providing Estimates (177 KB)

We understand that teachers and lecturers will need more time to access evidence and have departmental and faculty discussions, in order to provide this information. We are also conscious that this will be more challenging with school and college closures.

We are extending the existing estimates deadline by a month from Friday 24 April to Friday 29 May.

A free appeals service will be available to ensure that schools and colleges continue to have a mechanism to question any result, and guidance will be provided.

With the decision to cancel the 2020 exam timetable, and no coursework being marked for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses, there is no need for the normal marking activities, this year.

We thank all those who were due to mark, for their willingness to do so, and for all the work they do for us.

We are currently planning for alternative assessment, certification and post result activities, and we may still need Markers’ help and their expertise to support these activities. We hope that our Markers will be able to continue to support us, and we will be in touch with them, if their assistance in an alternative role is required.

Yes. All external assessment visits, and external verification visits related to this year’s examination diet, have been cancelled. While no further visiting assessment will take place this session, we know that some visiting assessors have already sent us marks from activities that were completed. We can confirm that these marks will not be used in determining learners’ final grades. We have taken this decision to be as fair as possible to all learners, as we do not have a complete set of data for all learners across all subjects that are marked by visiting assessors.

Yes. We are extending the existing estimates deadline by a month from Friday 24 April to Friday 29 May.

We have provided detailed guidance to schools and colleges on how to determine and submit refined estimate information.

Information on Providing Estimates (177 KB)

We will also provide fuller details of our approach to certification, as soon as possible.

A free appeals service will be available to ensure that schools and colleges continue to have a mechanism to question any result, and guidance will be provided.

No – schools and colleges should not send us Internal Assessment Mark Forms (IAMF). The marks and the coursework evidence are no longer required, given the information in our statement on coursework, published on 24 March.

No. There is no requirement for learners to complete coursework or other assessments. Schools and colleges are not required to set any more prelims or mock exams, or homework tasks for the purpose of determining an estimate grade.

Schools and colleges are best placed to make decisions about the completion of coursework, given their knowledge and understanding of the status of their learners’ coursework and the circumstances in which it can be completed, within current public health advice guidelines.

It is vital that we base our decisions on the principles of fairness to all learners, and the safe and secure certification of our qualifications, whilst recognising the current challenges we all face.

Mathematics and Latin do not have coursework, but we use other information during the awarding process to determine grades, including teacher estimates and prior attainment.

No. To help support you through this exceptionally difficult time, we can confirm that we will not be charging late fees, for any changes you make to entry levels or withdrawal of entries for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses, after 31 March. While any new entries that you make will incur the usual entry fee, we will not charge you a late fee as well. In line with our normal data management processes, SQA will continue to monitor the data submitted by centres until certification. However, it is essential that you provide complete and accurate data by the timelines set by SQA to ensure that learners are awarded the achievements they deserve and that they are able to take their next steps into further or higher education, employment or apprenticeships.

Yes. SQA is in regular discussion with UCAS, Colleges Scotland, and Universities Scotland, who are fully aware of the situation and will help learners to progress on to the next stage of their education or employment. We are also in close discussion with Skills Development Scotland, to ensure employers and their representatives are kept aware of the decisions being made.

Yes, as in any year, learners can sit the exams next year if they wish. All results will be listed on their SQA record of attainment.

This is an unprecedented situation, and the closure of schools and colleges for an extended period means that it will not be possible for learners to sit exams.

This was considered as an alternative but with no clear timeline for when schools and colleges would be reopened, the Deputy First Minister asked SQA to develop an alternative certification model.

As outlined in our statement, on 19 March 2020, the Deputy First Minister asked Scotland’s Chief Examining Officer to develop an alternative certification model following the cancellation of this year’s timetable.

We have cancelled all scheduled Round 2 verification events and all verification visits for the remainder of this academic session, and you should have received notification of this by email.

You are not required to send any assessment materials to SQA. For National Qualifications, including Skills for Work courses, it is unlikely that we will undertake any remote verification, as we recognise assessment evidence is not always available in electronic format for these types of qualification.

All scheduled verification visits for the remainder of this academic session have been cancelled and removed from SQA’s system. You do not need to contact the External Verifiers.

Reports from verification activity that took place before 20 March 2020 are still being submitted by verifiers and processed by the NQ Verification Team for publication to centres.

For the qualifications that have been selected, but will not be verified in this academic session, teachers and lecturers should use their professional judgement to make assessment decisions using their own quality assurance procedures. This is a similar process to any other year for qualifications that are not selected for external verification. The results that you submit will be used for certification purposes.

For most selections not verified this session, we will review and, where appropriate, re-select in session 2020-21 using the evidence generated in session 2020-21 for verification.

We have asked centres to retain candidate evidence until December 2020. This will allow us to carry out some verification activity in the future, most likely in autumn 2020. Further information on this will be issued later this session.

We have already completed about one third of all planned verification activity for this session and we are continuing to tie up any follow-up activities from this by e-mail with centres and verifiers. We will work on a case-by-case basis with all centres with a hold on certification from verification activity already carried out. We will contact those centres individually.

Yes. We have not issued selections for the Scottish Baccalaureate Interdisciplinary Project on 6 April. However, centres are requested to retain all assessment evidence gathered until December 2020 as they may be subject to future verification activity, most likely in autumn 2020.

Yes, you can submit requests for prior verification at any time, as electronic materials can be sent to verifiers to consider and report on. This will depend on verifier availability.

All qualification approval visits are postponed until next session. The submission dates for approval applications for certification in 2020 has passed and we will not be accepting further applications.

However, you can continue to submit approval applications for qualifications to be delivered in session 2020-21 by email at any time. We will send these to approvers for desk approval, if that is possible, but most will be held for visits to be scheduled, when it is safe to do so.

Yes, for large multi-class cohorts tied rankings may be entered eg if you cannot distinguish between three candidates whom you would rank fifth in your rank order, enter 5 three times.

SQA strongly advises minimising the number of ties and minimising the number of candidates in any tied ranking.

Ideally, you will have evidence that will enable you to give an estimated grade and refined band, so you can integrate them into your candidate rank order.

Where the candidate needs the qualification for progression purposes, they might wish to contact the provider to see if an alternative can be negotiated.

You should draw on your evidence of candidate performance throughout the course and your experience of teaching the course to other cohorts and their attainment to estimate grades and bands. You should also rank your candidates in each refined band. SQA will moderate your estimates drawing on centre and national data.

Please see the SQA Academy course for more guidance.

You will need to draw on the evidence available to you eg prelim results, records of homework and classwork, evidence in e-portfolios etc to inform your decision about the most likely, realistic outcome for each candidate had they been able to complete the course assessment. Please see the SQA Academy course for more guidance.

You are likely to have seen other work by candidates that is related to the assignment, this should give you an indication of the likely standard of the assignment. You might find it helpful to refer to the SQA Understanding Standards site where exemplar assignments are available.

Your SQA coordinator and subject lead will support you in making estimates. Centres will have data for cohorts in previous years.

No, SQA will retain any coursework to inform post-certification review.

No, this is not possible. Centres should estimate as they would in previous years for components assessed by visiting assessors. It has not been possible for marking to be quality assured and, due to COVID-19 restrictions, some marks have not yet been received by SQA. Centres must not contact visiting assessors directly to request that marks are disclosed.