Scotland’s exam body has published guidance for teachers on producing estimates this year, including advice on the type, quantity and quality of evidence that will be required to support grades.
The guidance is significant given that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) advice on what constituted good-quality evidence to support grades last year was blamed for students facing an onslaught of assessment when secondaries returned after the Easter break.
This year, the Scottish government’s aim is that national exams will go ahead in 2022.
However, if they have to be cancelled it has said that teacher estimates will be used to grade students.
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The SQA has vowed that schools and colleges “will not be required to carry out any additional assessments, as they did in 2020-21”, and grades will be “based on the work that learners have already completed throughout the year.”
Exams and assessment 2022: New SQA guidance on teacher estimates
Teachers have, however, been largely sceptical about such messages in recent months, maintaining that the detail in any estimates guidance would be key.
The SQA guidance once again reiterates that: “There are no additional assessment requirements in determining provisional results over and above those that support learning, and subsequently determine estimates, in a normal year.”
But, like last year, it emphasises the importance of preliminary or mock exams when determining grades, saying: “Evidence that is generated in an assessment that is similar to a course assessment is likely to be given greater weight in determining an estimate than evidence from something that is considerably different from the course assessment, either in terms of structure and content or assessment conditions.”
The SQA guidance states that “pieces of evidence that are deemed to have lower weight should not be discounted altogether, and adds: “Depending on the nature of the course assessment, such evidence might help supplement or support a reliable overall picture of a learner’s attainment.”
Launching the new guidance today, the SQA said: “The guidance published today is a refreshed version of the previous estimate guidance following feedback from a range of stakeholders, including members of the National Qualifications 2022 Group.
“It explains what estimates are and gives examples of the types of assessment evidence needed to ensure a robust estimate. In addition, it includes links to further support such as the SQA Academy course on Quality Assurance of Estimates for National Courses, our Guide to Assessment and Assessment Arrangements Explained: Information for Centres.
“If the exams are cancelled, the evidence used for provisional results would also be subject to quality assurance. SQA will provide more information about this after further discussion with partners, including learner and parent/carer groups.”
The SQA guidance can be found here.
