Background information for Component Marks
Purpose
Component Marks presents a summary of maximum marks, mean marks, highest achieved mark and the number of candidates achieving that highest mark, for each National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher course assessment as whole, and for each component of each assessment. The data enables comparison to the national average.
Status
These data are classified as information.
Description
This publication details assessment and component marks information for graded National Qualifications in Scotland for an academic year (e.g. 2024 covers the academic year from 2023 to 2024).
National Qualification courses are each made up of between one and five components. This release presents a summary of maximum marks, mean marks, highest achieved mark and the number of candidates achieving that highest mark, for each National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher assessment as whole, and for each component of each assessment.
Summary data for the assessment as a whole is included for the first time in the 2024 publication. Previously, only summary data for components was included.
Approach to awarding, 2020 to 2024
During the global pandemic, SQA, in common with education systems around the world, had to use different approaches to assessment and certification. Examinations did not take place in 2020 and 2021 and component marks were not collected.
In 2022, Scotland returned to formal national exams, supported by a package of measures (course modifications and revision support, as well as wider support from across the education system at a national, regional, local and centre level). These measures were designed to address the ongoing disruption to learning and teaching that young people experienced, while maintaining standards. Further details about the approach to awarding in 2022 can be found in the methodology report.
In 2023, awarding operated using the established procedure as far as possible in order to evaluate the performance of the course assessment, but with consideration given to the following factors:
- Impact of the reducing legacy of disruption to teaching and learning caused by the pandemic
- Impact of modifications to course assessment
- Impact of the removal of revision support
Awarding decisions were therefore ‘sensitive’ to these factors, ensuring that grade boundary decisions recognised that performance continues to be impacted. This was informed by the full range of qualitative and quantitative data used during awarding, with additional data from 2021-22 on the impact of modifications. Further details about the approach to awarding in 2023 can be found in the methodology report.
In 2024, awarding used the well-established procedures to evaluate the performance of the course assessment and, where appropriate, considered the impact of changes to assessment brought about by the return to full course assessment for many courses. These changes to assessment included the removal of optionality in some question papers and the reintroduction of:
- Coursework components (projects, assignments, dissertations)
- Optional content into question papers
- Course content examined in question papers
- An exam component
Further details about the approach to awarding in 2024 can be found in the methodology report.
Source of data
National Qualification performance data are collected at a point when results are reasonably complete. The data are collected at around the same time in July each year to aid year-on-year comparisons.
Methodology
Only candidates that completed all components were included in these data and all marks used are marks after any scaling.
Confidentiality and rounding
All highest mark counts are rounded to the nearest five. Highest mark counts between one and four inclusive have been suppressed to protect against the risk of disclosure of personal information. Cells containing suppressed figures are marked up with the shorthand [c].
Information Governance
The data in this publication is defined as being statistical for the purposes of information governance and data protection. This primarily means that the associated processing is not carried out for the purposes of measures or decisions with respect to a particular data subject. Further information on this processing category can be found in the appropriate data protection legislation.
Revisions and corrections
Once published these statistics are not usually subject to revisions. Further information about revisions and corrections is available in our policy document.
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Related Information
- SQA Code of Practice (252 KB)
- SQA research