SQA publishes Assessment Arrangement insights for 2025 National Qualifications
Tuesday 11 November 2025
- 36,580 learners requested at least one Assessment Arrangement, with a total of 119,405 individual arrangements requested in 2024-25.
- 21.4% of National 5 entries have assessment arrangements in place. At Higher level, 21.8% of entries have the measures in place, and at Advanced Higher level, 13.5% of entries had assessment arrangements.
- Between 2018 and 2025, assessment arrangement requests have more than doubled, with a 115.5% increase for National 5, 100.6% for Higher, and 87.1% for Advanced Higher qualifications.
- The most commonly requested individual assessment arrangements include separate accommodation, extra time, ICT with and without spell checker, digital question papers, and coloured paper.
Data published today (Tuesday 11 November) by SQA shows significant growth in the number of learners requesting Assessment Arrangements (AA) for National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher qualifications, with notable variations across different demographics and geographical areas.
Assessment arrangements are designed to enable learners who are disabled or have additional support needs to demonstrate their knowledge and skills without compromising the integrity of the assessment. These arrangements can include extra time, separate accommodation, the use of assistive technology, and modified paper formats, among others.
Key findings include:
Female learners are requesting more assessment arrangements than male learners, with the gap between the sexes widening. At National 5 level, 23.3% of entries for National 5 courses by female candidates had an associated assessment arrangement compared with 19.4% of males at the same level. At Higher level, the figures are 23.6% for females and 19.7% for males. At Advanced Higher level, 14.5% of female entries requested an AA compared with 12.2% of male entries.
The report identifies differences in AA requests between areas of different deprivation levels. At Higher level, 22% of entries from learners in the least deprived areas (SIMD5) requested an AA, compared with 19.4% from the most deprived areas (SIMD1). A similar pattern is observed at Advanced Higher level, with 14% of SIMD5 entries requesting AA compared with 12.2% of SIMD1 candidates.
Assessment arrangement requests are higher in remote and accessible rural areas than in urban locations. At National 5 and Higher levels, Remote Rural areas show the highest rates (26.9% and 28.5% of entries respectively), whilst at Advanced Higher level, Small Remote Towns recorded 17.5% of entries requesting AA.
Across Scotland's 32 local authority areas, AA requests as a percentage of entries can vary significantly, ranging from 47% in Orkney to 14.6% in North Lanarkshire.
When examining subject areas, those with the highest levels of AA requests at National 5 include Care (37%), Media (35.5%), and Environmental Science (34.9%). At Higher level, Childcare and Development (37.7%), Drama (36.1%), and Fashion and Textile Technology (36%) show the highest rates, whilst at Advanced Higher level, Classical Studies (37.5%), Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies (24.8%), and English (23.3%) lead the way.
The report also draws on data from the Scottish Pupil Census, revealing that learners from White Scottish and White non-Scottish ethnic backgrounds have the highest levels of AA requests, whilst requests are lowest among Asian ethnic groups across all qualification levels.
Donna Stewart, Scotland's Chief Examining Officer, said: "SQA recognises and continues to support the diversity of Scotland's learner community, and we are pleased to accommodate candidates who require assessment arrangements.
"Assessment arrangements allow candidates who are disabled, and/or have been identified as having additional support needs, access to appropriate arrangements to complete the assessment without compromising its integrity.
"SQA provides schools, colleges, and training providers delivering its courses with a toolkit to help teachers and lecturers decide how best to provide assessment arrangements in internal and external assessments. The information provided helps staff gather evidence for and verify assessment arrangement requests."
The full Assessment Arrangements Insights 2025 report, containing detailed statistical breakdowns, is available on the Assessment Arrangements Insights 2025 webpage.