Background information for Assessment Marks

Official Statistics In Development

 

Purpose

Assessment Marks presents a summary of maximum marks, mean marks, standard deviation of marks, highest achieved marks and the number of learners achieving that highest mark, for each National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher course assessment as a whole, as well as for each component of each assessment.

Status

These data are classified as official statistics in development.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code. You can also email us with your comments on how we’re meeting these standards, or you can contact OSR by email at regulation@statistics.gov.uk, or through the OSR website.

Description

This publication details assessment and component marks information for graded National Qualifications in Scotland for an academic year (e.g. 2026 covers the academic year from 2025 to 2026).

National Qualification courses are each made up of between one and five components.

The workbooks included within this release present a summary of maximum marks, mean marks, highest achieved mark and the number of learners achieving that highest mark, for each National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher assessment as whole, and for each component of each assessment.

Summary data for the assessment as a whole was included for the first time in the 2024 publication. Previously, only summary data for components was included. From 2025, the tables were renamed as Assessment Marks. A statistical summary document was produced for the first time in the 2026 publication.

Approach to awarding

Approach to awarding from 2025

Following a period of different awarding approaches (detailed in ‘Approach to awarding before 2025’), there was a return to well established awarding procedures from 2025, in line with our Awarding and Grading for National Courses Policy.

Approach to awarding before 2025

Prior to 2020, well established awarding procedures were used to evaluate the performance of the course assessment.

In 2020, the Deputy First Minister directed the issuing of grades, primarily on the basis of teacher estimates. Grades that had been adjusted upwards in an earlier moderation process were also retained. Details about the moderation process used in 2020 is described in the methodology report for 2020.

In 2021, the Scottish Government commissioned the development of an Alternative Certification Model (ACM 2021) for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher for 2021. This model was developed by the National Qualifications 2021 Group, represented by:

  • the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES)
  • Colleges Scotland
  • Education Scotland
  • the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)
  • School Leaders Scotland (SLS)
  • the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS)
  • Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
  • the Scottish Government
  • National Parent Forum of Scotland (NPFS)
  • and the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP)

The model was based on teacher judgement, supported by assessment resources and quality assurance. The approach to certification adopted in 2021 is described in detail in the methodology report for 2021.

In 2022, a wide-ranging package of support was put in place to enable learners to demonstrate what they know, understand and could do, despite the disruption to learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Various modifications and revision support were put in place to reduce the assessment requirements for courses and increase learning and teaching time. Further details about the approach to awarding in 2022 can be found in the methodology report.

In 2023, awarding operated using the established procedure as far as possible in order to evaluate the performance of the course assessment, but with consideration given to the following factors:

  • Impact of the reducing legacy of disruption to teaching and learning caused by the pandemic
  • Impact of modifications to course assessment
  • Impact of the removal of revision support

Awarding decisions were therefore ‘sensitive’ to these factors, ensuring that grade boundary decisions recognised that performance continues to be impacted. This was informed by the full range of qualitative and quantitative data used during awarding, with additional data from 2021-22 on the impact of modifications. Further details about the approach to awarding in 2023 can be found in the methodology report.

In 2024, awarding used the well-established procedures to evaluate the performance of the course assessment and, where appropriate, considered the impact of changes to assessment brought about by the return to full course assessment for many courses. These changes to assessment included the removal of optionality in some question papers and the reintroduction of:

  • Coursework components (projects, assignments, dissertations)
  • Optional content into question papers
  • Course content examined in question papers
  • An exam component

Further details about the approach to awarding in 2024 can be found in the methodology report.

Source of data

National Qualification performance data are collected at a point prior to Results Day when results are reasonably complete. The data are collected at around the same time in July each year to aid year-on-year comparisons.

Methodology

Candidates are included when they have valid marks for all assessment components, unless they have been approved by their centre for Exceptional Circumstances. A candidate cannot have valid marks when they have been recorded as an absentee for one or more component.

Mark data refers to marks after scaling, where scaling is applied.

The data presented in the statistical summary have been extracted from the same data tables included within this release.

Confidentiality and rounding

All highest mark counts are rounded to the nearest five. Highest mark counts between one and four (inclusive) have been suppressed to protect against the risk of disclosure of personal information. They are marked up with the shorthand [c].

Limitations

There can be different approaches to awarding in place from year to year. This means that it is not possible to compare statistics across years without full consideration of this contextual information. Approaches to awarding for the current and historic years are outlined in the methodology reports linked in the attainment statistics background information webpage.

Information Governance

The data in this publication is defined as being statistical for the purposes of information governance and data protection. This primarily means that the associated processing is not carried out for the purposes of measures or decisions with respect to a particular data subject. Further information on this processing category can be found in the appropriate data protection legislation.

Revisions and corrections

Once published these statistics are not usually subject to revisions. Further information about revisions and corrections is available in our policy document.

Help us improve

We want to make our publications as useful as possible. Please let our team know using data.analytics@qualifications.gov.scot about anything that has worked particularly well for you, that you’d like us to improve, or any suggestions for future developments.