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National 5 Lifeskills Mathematics

Each qualification we are developing goes through a number of development stages. National 5 Lifeskills Mathematics is currently at the Assessment Support development stage.

Lifeskills Mathematics Unit Assessment Support

Package 3 of Unit Assessment Support for Lifeskills Mathematics includes e-assessment materials. These are available from the Lifeskills Mathematics area of the SQA Solar website.

Links to SQA Solar are provided in the Unit Assessment Support pack.

In order to view the e-assessment materials, centres must request access to SQA Solar and the Lifeskills Mathematics area. Access can be requested on the Solar website.

Please refer to the Unit Assessment Support pack for more information. Any queries or feedback relating to e-assessment on SQA Solar should be directed to the helpdesk: solar@sqa.org.uk

The e-assessments in package 3 of the Unit Assessment Support are exemplars only. They are not live assessments and are intended to help assessors when preparing to use Solar e-assessments. They are indicative of the type and level of questions that will be available when the new National Qualifications are implemented.

Formative/practice questions for learners and live, verified e-assessments will be provided in August 2013.

Click on the drop-down below to read the documents published so far.

Qualification content and delivery tools

Use the tabs below to open each section individually. Alternatively you can view all the sections.

Assessment overview

Over the next year, SQA will develop Course and Unit assessment support for every Course from National 2 to National 5 to help teachers and lecturers in the delivery and assessment of the new qualifications.

This assessment overview outlines what support materials will be produced and when.


Specimen Question Paper and Marking Instructions

What is the Specimen Question Paper?

The Specimen Question Paper has been designed to illustrate the standard, structure and requirements of the Question Paper that candidates will sit from Session 2013/14 as part of their National 5 Course. It includes Marking Instructions.

Examination Question Papers will be set and marked by SQA and conducted in centres under the strict conditions for external examinations specified by SQA.

Who are they for?

Specimen Question Papers have been developed to support teaching and learning and to help prepare candidates for the National 5 Course assessment. In addition, they may be of interest to parents, employers, colleges, universities and others interested in the new National Qualifications.

What do they contain?

Specimen Question Papers contain examples of the types and scope of questions that will be used in the Examination Question Paper. The Marking Instructions outline the marking principles for the Examination Question Paper and provide details of how the questions in the specimen paper should be marked.

The Specimen Question Papers should be read in conjunction with the National 5 Course Assessment Specification.

What's next?

Where appropriate, the National 5 Course Assessment Specification will be updated with further information and clarification of the requirements of the Course assessment. The updated version will be available by the end of June 2013.

Course Specification


Unit Specification

Unit Specification for National 5 Numeracy.

Course Assessment Specification


Course and Unit Support Notes

Unit Assessment Support Materials

National 2 to National 5 Unit assessment

SQA has developed three packages of assessment support for Units in the new National Courses, from National 2 to National 5. Packages 1, 2 and 3 are now available. They are held securely and teachers/lecturers can arrange access to them through their SQA Co-ordinator.

All packs are valid from August 2013 and must therefore be treated as confidential and held securely.

What are they?

Assessment support is designed to encourage professional judgement and to support learning and assessment that will motivate and challenge learners. The packs will help practitioners to deliver and assess the new National Qualifications. Find out more on our assessment support policy.

Who are they for?

The packs are for assessors in schools and colleges. Assessors may use the assessments provided in Unit Assessment Support packs as they are, adapt/modify them, and/or use them to develop their own assessments.

What do the packs contain?

Each pack provides details of an assessment task or tasks, shows approaches to generating evidence, and shows how the evidence that is gathered can be judged against the Unit Outcomes and Assessment Standards.

There are three packages of Unit Assessment Support for each Course. According to the needs of the Course, these may include:

  • Unit-by-Unit approach - the Unit Assessment Support is for each Unit in a Course. Normally it will cover all of the Outcomes and Assessment Standards.
  • Combined approach – this supports the use of a combined approach to assessment which can be a very effective approach to gathering evidence for assessment across a number of Units of a Course.
  • Portfolio approach – this supports a portfolio approach to assessment by providing information on judging evidence for assessment normally covering all Outcomes and Assessment Standards for all the Units in a Course.

The second and third packages of Unit Assessment Support include packs which demonstrate the use of combined and portfolio approaches in assessment.

The packs do not have marks or threshold/cut-off scores; they have an explanation of how assessment judgements are to be made against Assessment Standards.

Where assessment is conducted through observation or oral questioning, evidence should include assessors' comments and other relevant supportive evidence that shows clearly the basis on which assessment judgements have been made.

Most packs also include examples of recording documentation; however, assessors may adapt these to suit local needs and approaches.

Each pack also has information in an appendix which can be detached and given to candidates.

To access packages 1, 2 and 3 of Unit Assessment Support, please speak to your SQA Co-ordinator.