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Mathematics
New National Qualifications
Mathematics sits within the mathematics curriculum area.
Finalised documents have now been published for all the new Curriculum for Excellence Advanced Highers. This means that, along with the documents that were published last April, finalised Course and Unit documents are now available for all the new qualifications, from National 2 to Advanced Higher. These documents contain both mandatory information (in the Specifications) and advice and guidance (in the Support Notes). You can download all of these documents for this subject from our download page, using the button below, or use our check-box facility to download a selection of documents.
Assessment support materials are also now available for all the new National 2, National 3, National 4 and National 5 qualifications. Information on Course assessment support material (such as Specimen Question Papers and coursework information) is available on the National 5 subject page and, for all National 2 to National 5 qualifications, information on how to access Unit assessment support materials can be found on each subject page.
Following the development of these support materials, some documents with mandatory information (in particular the Course Assessment Specifications) will be updated with further information and clarifications by mid-June. In line with our standard practice, these documents will contain version information and a note of changes, if necessary. This will ensure that you can recognise the most up-to-date documents.
See also:
Development process
The final documents have been published following a lengthy engagement process. Find out how we got here. Considerable work has been carried out by the Curriculum Area Review Groups (CARGs), the Qualifications Design Teams (QDTs) and Subject Working Groups (SWGs) to develop the final documents.
At each stage of the qualification development process, we publish draft documents outlining our proposals and plans.
Visit our timeline to find out when the next documents for each qualification will be published.
Key points
- motivates and challenges learners by enabling them to select and apply mathematical techniques in a variety of mathematical and real-life situations
- equips learners with the skills needed to interpret and analyse information, simplify and solve problems, and make informed decisions
- has a skills-based Unit structure, with reasoning skills developed within all Units
- provides opportunities for combined assessment in the Units
- has an embedded Numeracy Unit at National 4
- has a hierarchical Unit structure that provides progression from National 4 to Higher*
- has a test as the added value assessment at National 4, and question papers at National 5 and Higher
Mathematics Courses have been designed to progress from the Mathematics and Numeracy (344 KB) experiences and outcomes.
* There is no direct hierarchy (of Course and Unit titles) between National 3 Lifeskills Mathematics and National 4 Mathematics. However, learners can use the Units of the National 4 Mathematics Course to achieve the National 3 Lifeskills Mathematics Course.
There is no direct hierarchy (of Unit titles) between National 4 Mathematics and National 5 Mathematics. However, learners can use the Units of the National 5 Mathematics to achieve the National 4 Mathematics Course, as long as they also pass the National 4 Added Value Unit and Numeracy Unit (or alternatively learners could use the freestanding Numeracy Unit at SCQF 5).
Unit Outcomes, Assessment Standards and Evidence Requirement statements (including the National 4 Added Value Unit) have all been revised to increase flexibility, and additional information has been provided in the Evidence Requirements for all Units.
