FOI23/24 139 EK Management Exams General Motor 040-12 & 040-13

Date published: 26/02/2024

I would like to request the following information relating to EK Management Exams General/ Motor- (040-12 & 040-13)

1.) Any correspondence, meeting minutes/notes between SQA and MCA regarding these exams since 2017

2.) Any correspondence, meeting minutes/notes between SQA and City Of Glasgow College regarding these exams since 2017

3.) Number of Examiners Involved in creating both general/motor papers since 2017

4.) Length Of Time The Examiners have been employed within the position

5.) Who is actually involved in the creation of the EK Management exam paper? Who ensures that the questions being asked in the papers are clear, and who ensures that the examiners are carrying out their job properly when marking the papers?

6.) Pertaining to candidate *** (myself) - the examiner who marked candidates papers from July 2022, March 2023, December 2023

7.) How marks were allocated to candidates answers in the EK management exam papers since 2017?. (There is no official "stock answer" provided by SQA or MCA to any of the questions posed in these exams - but this appears to be a concern from the examiner in general feedback provided to colleges, apparently stock answers are indicative of wrote learning. Candidates need to know how marks are applied and what it is precisely the examiner is looking for - general feedback is not sufficient))

8.) Amount of non-UK residents sitting and also the pass rate of the EK Management exams since 2017.

1.) Any correspondence , meeting minutes/notes between SQA and MCA regarding these exams since 2017

The meeting notes we have in relation to these examinations relate to the moderating panel meetings and these are considered exempt from release under section 30(b)(i) and (ii) of the Act.

The only notes would be annotations to prelim draft copies of exam papers/solutions made at the moderating panel meeting. These notes are then used to confirm the examiner has made all the agreed changes to the exam paper and solutions when submitting the Final signed off Examiners copy.

The questions for the exam papers are taken from a question bank and as the questions can be reused for future examination papers we don’t publish the solutions/specimen papers. Any notes from the meetings would be annotations to the draft questions or draft solutions/specimen answers and if published would impact on the integrity of the question bank.

When applying a section 30 exemption we must apply the public interest test.

As stated, the notes from the meetings would be annotations to prelim draft copies of papers/solutions. Whilst it appreciated that there would be interest from candidates for these notes as it could potentially help in future exams. However, as the questions for the exams are taken from a question bank and will be re-used in the future, it is important that all the discussions around the questions are not placed in the public domain as it would impact on the integrity of the exam process. Whilst it could be argued that there may be some interest in this, it is considered that it is not in the public interest to adversely affect the exam process.

2.) Any correspondence , meeting minutes/notes between SQA and City Of Glasgow College regarding these exams since 2017

Under section 17 of the Act, where a public authority does not hold the information requested it must inform the requester. There have been no meetings between SQA and City of Glasgow College in relation to these examinations and as such we are unable to provide any information.

3.) Number of Examiners Involved in creating both general/motor papers since 2017

There are 2 SQA Examiners, 8 SQA Revisers and 5 MCA Examiners are involved in creating the papers.

4.) Length Of Time The Examiners have been employed within the position

The two SQA examiners have been contracted on an annual basis since 2017. With regard to the MCA examiners, we do not hold any information relating to the length of time they have been employed in the position. You may wish to contact the MCA who might be able to provide that. You can submit your request at the following link:

How to make a freedom of information (FOI) request: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

5.) Who is actually involved in the creation of the EK Management exam paper? Who ensures that the questions being asked in the papers are clear, and who ensures that the examiners are carrying out their job properly when marking the papers?

There is a note below which outlines the SQA/MCA process for the creation of examination papers and solutions/specimen answers. We have also attached a copy of the Notes on the Guidance for Markers, which we feel might be helpful.

6.) Pertaining to candidate *** (myself) - the examiner who marked candidates papers from July 2022, March 2023, December 2023

We have a duty to protect the personal information of individuals and we consider this information to be personal information. Under section 38(1)(b) of the Act we must not release any information that may lead to the identification of individuals. All the papers need to be marked confidentially and as such, the names of the markers must not be released as this could prejudice the process.

7.) How marks were allocated to candidates answers in the EK management exam papers since 2017?. (There is no official "stock answer" provided by SQA or MCA to any of the questions posed in these exams - but this appears to be a concern from the examiner in general feedback provided to colleges, apparently stock answers are indicative of wrote learning. Candidates need to know how marks are applied and what it is precisely the examiner is looking for - general feedback is not sufficient))

The marks allocated to each question is noted on the exam paper.

Each question in the Engineering Knowledge General paper is worth 10 marks. If the question is broken into part (a), (b), (c) etc the mark for each part is shown on the examination paper, i.e. (a) 5 marks, (b) 3 marks, (c) 2 marks.

Each question in the Engineering Knowledge Motor paper is worth 16 marks. If the question is broken into part (a), (b), (c) etc.  the mark for each part is shown on the examination paper ie (a) 8 marks, (b) 5 marks, (c) 3 marks.

We do not publish the solutions for the reasons explained in question 1.

8.) Amount of non-UK residents sitting and also the pass rate of the EK Management exams since 2017

SQA does not collect data on the resident status of candidates.

The attached document details the number of candidates sitting the examinations at each diet and the % pass rate for 040-12 EK General and 040-13 EK Motor.

Outline of the SQA/MCA process for creating examination papers & solutions.

Each examination paper and solutions are written by a subject specialist. The examination paper and solutions are then vetted by two subject specialist revisers who:

work through the entire examination paper and ensure that the specimen solutions and marking scheme are correct;

ensure that the paper adequately reflect the syllabus;

submit a report on the paper for consideration at the moderating panel meeting.

The moderating panel (SQA Examiner, SQA Revisers(x2), MCA Examiner, SQA Officer) then meet to discuss and review the reviser reports and finalise the content of the examination paper and solutions. The SQA Examiner then makes all amendments agreed by the moderating panel and submits Examiner approved the paper and solutions. The SQA Examiner approved examination paper and solutions is then sent to the MCA Examiner for a further check, the MCA Examiner then approves the final version of the examination paper and solutions.

 

Guidance for Markers (158 KB)

EK General Motor % Pass Rate (15 KB)