Assessment Arrangements research
We recently undertook extensive research into our assessment arrangements service. We are very grateful to the staff from schools, colleges, training providers and local authorities along with learners and their parents and carers, who gave us their views.
This was the first research exclusively looking at assessment arrangements in Scotland for SQA National Courses and has allowed us to better understand how assessment arrangements work in practice.
The outcomes from the research support the continuous improvement of our assessment arrangements service and the quality assurance of the systems used by schools, colleges and training providers. The outcomes have also helped us to identify opportunities for improvement.
Assessment Arrangements research findings (532 KB)
Assessment Arrangements research findings - easy read version (92 KB)
Quality assurance of assessment arrangements
Further to the research we published in 2024, we decided to engage further with our centres and other key stakeholders to review our current approach to the quality assurance of assessment arrangements. The purpose of the review is to ensure the process is supportive, does not introduce undue burden on centres, that there is consistency in the experiences of centres visited, and that it meets the needs of different centre types.
The aims of the project are were to:
- better understand how SQA’s approach to quality assurance can be improved to meet the needs of each centre type, and
- provide a more consistent and supportive experience for centres.
This report summarises the findings from the focus groups and surveys we carried out in 2024 with schools, colleges, training providers and other key stakeholders about the quality assurance of assessment arrangements.