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.

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 2019-20

There will be two rounds of external verification in 2019-20.

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.

Generating the sample

Details of how to construct the sample of evidence will be provided with the selections. The requirements are also outlined in our Generating the evidence sample document (221 KB). Six candidates per level, and no fewer than 12 overall, must be provided, where possible.

In some cases we will request that centres provide evidence from specific candidates rather than the centre choosing the sample for us.

What evidence do you need to provide for verification?

Your SQA Co-ordinator will be informed of all planned verification activity through SQA Connect.

Guidance on evidence required for external verification of Units is provided in the following documents:

• Type of verification for Units (including Added Value Units) (124 KB)
• Evidence for visiting verification
• Evidence for verification events

Guidance on evidence required for external verification of internally-assessed Components of Course assessment is provided in the following document:

• Evidence for external verification of National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher internally-assessed Components of Course assessment (514 KB)

If you are considering submitting work in a digital format, please read the e-submission guidance document (190 KB).

Interim evidence guidance

Interim evidence is material provided by a candidate for a unit they have not yet completed.

If selected for verification, complete unit evidence should always be provided for verification where it is available. Interim evidence should be provided for verification where complete unit evidence is not yet available.

Please read the Interim evidence guidance for further information.

Guidance on retention of evidence

Centres must retain all candidate assessment evidence for new National Qualifications until the end of the academic year (31 July). However, if a centre enters a candidate for any of the free standing units at SCQF levels 5 and 6 after the closing date, evidence must be retained 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.