How will my child be assessed for their National Qualifications?
This depends on which courses they are doing, as assessments vary across subjects and levels.
National 2, National 3 and National 4 courses
If your child is taking National 2, National 3, or National 4 courses, they will do unit assessments throughout the year, which they will complete during class time. Each unit assessment will assess them on a particular set of skills, knowledge and understanding for the course.
National 4 courses normally include an added value unit assessment that is completed towards the end of the course. The added value unit assessment is an assignment, test, practical activity, or performance that assesses learners on the skills, knowledge and understanding they have developed across the whole course. This year, however, there is no requirement to complete the added value unit. We explain a bit more about this, and other changes to assessment, below.
National 2, National 3 and National 4 courses are assessed as pass or fail by your child’s teacher, lecturer, or training practitioner, supported by quality assurance from SQA. To pass the course, your child will need to pass all their unit assessments, although if they fail a unit assessment, they can normally re-sit.
National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses
If your child is taking National 5, Higher or Advanced Higher courses, they will complete a course assessment towards the end of each course. Depending on the subject, this usually involves sitting one or more exams or completing one or more coursework assessments (such as an assignment, project, practical activity or performance) – or a combination of both.
SQA marks the exams and most coursework. A small number of courses involve performances or practical activities that are assessed by the teacher, lecturer, or training practitioner, or by an SQA visiting examiner. Your child’s marks for each assessment will be combined to give an overall mark and percentage, and to determine their overall grade.
National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses are graded A to D. If your child achieves a result lower than grade D (which equates to between 40-49%), they will not be awarded the course and will receive a ‘no award’ result on results day.
Skills for Work courses
These courses focus on the general skills needed in the workplace. Your child will usually complete practical activities that are assessed by their teacher or lecturer.
Skills for Work courses are assessed as pass or fail.
Scottish Baccalaureates
These are made up of a group of Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications, plus an interdisciplinary project that is graded A to C.
The interdisciplinary project is internally assessed by teachers, lecturers, or training practitioners and is supported by quality assurance from SQA.
Has SQA made any changes to assessments following the disruption caused by Covid-19?
Yes. This year, we have kept the changes we previously made to assessments in National 4, National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses, as well as some National 3 courses and freestanding units. We call these changes ‘modifications’ and they vary by subject and level.
We made these changes to reduce the volume of assessment that learners had to complete across their courses, and to help ease their workload as much as possible, while still maintaining the credibility and standard of the qualifications.
All modifications to assessment are already in place and there are no plans to make any further changes this year.
What kind of modifications have you made?
Depending on the subject and level, we may have done one or more of the following:
- removed an exam or an item of coursework
- removed or reduced parts of an exam or coursework
- removed one or more topics or sub-topics from an exam
- provided more choice or more time in an assessment
- provided your child’s school, college, or training provider with information about what will or will not be assessed in the 2023 exam
- reduced the amount of work learners need to do for a unit assessment
In National 4 courses, we have also removed the requirement to complete added value unit assessments.
Where can I find information on the modifications to assessment in my child’s courses?
Your child’s teachers, lecturers, or training practitioners will explain to them how they will be assessed this year.
We have published a table on our website that gives a summary of the modifications to assessment in each course. This information is for teachers, lecturers, and training practitioners, but you might find it useful.
View a summary of the modifications to assessment in each course.
Will there be exams in 2023 and when will they take place?
We are planning for exams to take place in 2023, as they did in 2022. The 2023 exams will start on Monday 24 April and finish on Thursday 1 June 2023, with results day on Tuesday 8 August 2023.
As a public holiday is scheduled to take place on Monday 8 May to mark the King’s coronation, we need to review the published timetable. Discussions on how this affects the exam timetable are ongoing, however the start and end dates won’t change. We will update you on this as soon as possible.
You can view the full 2023 exam timetable on our website at www.sqa.org.uk/timetable.
Will my child sit prelims?
Schools, colleges, and training providers decide whether to hold prelims. Your child’s school, college, or training provider will advise them if they are going to be sitting prelims this year and when those will take place.
What information and support will be available for my child?
We will have services in place to support learners who:
- are unable to sit an exam due to exceptional circumstances, or
- wish to query their results directly with SQA.
Before we make any final decisions about how these services will operate, we will carry out an evaluation of all arrangements that were in place last session, including the Appeals 2022 and Exam Exceptional Circumstances Consideration services.
The evaluation will play an important part in informing what type of services we will take forward this session. We expect to have the outcome of this evaluation by the end of January 2023.
You can stay up to date by visiting the learner section of our website. www.sqa.org.uk/learners
What happens if the pandemic causes further disruption this year?
We remain mindful that we are continuing to live through Covid-19, and that this can be unpredictable. We also know this is a concern for parents, carers and learners, and for schools, colleges and training providers. While we are planning for exams go ahead in 2023, it is important and sensible that we have another option available should public health advice lead to exams being cancelled.
We have published more information about this on our website at www.sqa.org.uk/learners, including details of how we are continuing to work with our partners across Scottish education.
