National Qualifications - external verification

External verification is the process SQA uses to assure the quality of internal assessment, including internal verification, in centres. SQA uses two main methods of external verification - event and visiting.

Round 1 and Round 2 verification events cancelled

Due to ongoing COVID-19 social distancing requirements:

• All Round 1 and Round 2 verification events have been cancelled.
• There will be no verification visits to centres in 2020-21.
• There will be no NQ verification events in 2020–21.

What are the different types of external verification?

• Event verification - if selected for event verification, evidence will be uplifted from your centre and verified at a central event by a team of appointees who are trained in assessment and verification
• Visiting verification - if selected for visiting verification, an appointee will visit your centre to review evidence. They will contact you in advance to arrange the visit.

National Qualifications verification 2020-21

There will be two rounds of external verification in 2020-21.

Centres that have been selected for verification will be informed before each round to allow time to prepare materials for the uplift and/or the visit.

Selections are based on historical entry patterns and live entry data. We will review live entries during the year and may, as a result, make extra selections. Find out more about how we select centres for verification.

What evidence do you need to provide for verification?

Your SQA Co-ordinator will be informed of planned verification activity through SQA Connect or by email.

You can find guidance on the evidence you are required to provide for external verification in the Verification submission guidance documents below:

• Verification submission guidance (units) (96 KB)
• Verification submission guidance (internally assessed course assessments) (63 KB)

These guidance documents cover:

• Evidence requirements including sample sizes
• Documentation that should be provided
• Interim evidence guidance (unit only)
• Guidance on provided evidence in electronic formats
• Subject-specific information

Guidance on retention of evidence

Centres must retain all candidate assessment evidence for new National Qualifications, including evidence for any of the free standing units at SCQF levels 5, 6 and 7, until 30 September.

• Evidence retention requirements (85 KB)
• Retention of candidate assessment records (100 KB)

Verification outcomes

There are three possible outcomes of verification:

• Accepted - the centre's assessment approach and judgements are fully in line with national standards.
• Accepted* - the centre's assessment approach and judgements are in line with national standards, but there are suggested recommendations to improve assessment.
• Not Accepted - there are significant issues with the internal assessment approach and/or judgements. Required Actions are specified which must be completed. Certification can only take place once these are resolved.

If the outcome is Not Accepted, SQA will work with the centre to ensure that the correct follow-up actions are completed. In all cases, centres will receive an outcome report which will provide feedback on the approach to assessment and assessment judgements.

Appeals

Centres that wish to appeal a Not Accepted outcome should follow the guidance outlined in the Appeals Process document.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the verification process, please contact the NQ Verification team at NQVerification@sqa.org.uk.