A-Z glossary

Added Value

Added Value is about making sure that learners can put their skills, knowledge and understanding into practice.

At National 4, learners undertake a compulsory Added Value Unit as part of the Course. Learners complete an Added Value Unit assessment, which also provides the basis for assessing the Course as a whole. This is assessed as a pass or a fail.

At National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher, added value is assessed through completing the Course assessment, which may involve a combination of assessment methods.

Assignment

An assignment is a problem-solving exercise with clear guidelines and structure. It is a written assessment, usually in the form of a report or an essay.

Assignments provide opportunities for candidates to demonstrate their practical skills, knowledge and understanding.

Candidate

An individual who is entered for a qualification or assessment.

Case study

A case study is an event based on a realistic situation, which is normally presented as a piece of text, an image or an audio/visual recording. Candidates are given a series of instructions which prompt them to analyse the situation; drawing conclusions, making decisions or supporting courses of action.

Case studies provide opportunities for candidates to demonstrate their problem-solving and decision-making skills.

Centre

SQA works with ‘centres’. These are schools, colleges, training providers and other organisations with the authority to deliver SQA qualifications.

Controlled assessment

Our consistent approach to developing, conducting and marking Course assessments.

Core Skills

The fundamental skills that help people through their education, work and life. The Core Skills are Communication, Numeracy, Problem Solving, Information Technology, and Working with Others.

Visit our Core Skills web page.

Courses

A collection of Units are combined to make a Course. Courses at National 5 and above are not just made up of Units – they also include an overall Course assessment which can be made up of coursework and a traditional exam.

Curriculum for Excellence (CfE)

Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) is the curriculum and qualifications system in Scotland for 3-18-year-olds.

E-assessment

E-assessment is assessment which takes place online or through an electronic system.

Entries

Candidates who are entered for a particular qualification on our system.

Evidence

Information which can be gathered to show a learner’s attainment.

External Assessment

This means that marking is undertaken by SQA.

Marking that is carried out by the school or college is known as internal assessment.

Formative assessment

Assessment which takes place throughout a Course.

Free-standing Unit

A Unit that can be undertaken on its own and not part of a larger qualification.

Hierarchy

The term used to describe Courses and Units that form a structured progression involving two or more SCQF levels. Courses that are in a hierarchy will normally have a common set of Units.

Most of our National Courses and Units have been developed in hierarchies to support smooth progression through the levels of qualifications.

Holistic

Holistic means looking across all areas, for example, of the curriculum.

Interdisciplinary Project

A project undertaken as part of a Scottish Baccalaureate qualification, where subject knowledge is applied in realistic contexts.

Visit our Scottish Baccalaureates web page.

Internal assessment

This means that the assessment is set and marked by the school or college.

Assessments set and marked by SQA are known as external assessments.

Mandatory Unit

A mandatory Unit is one which must be achieved in order to pass a Course.

National Assessment Resource (NAR)

An online resource to help support assessment approaches for CfE. It hosts materials to help teachers.

Portfolio

A portfolio (sometimes referred to as a ‘folio’) is a representative collection of a candidate’s work, which is usually put together throughout the Course. It showcases their best work - such as written work or artwork - and it can also be used to provide examples of work which show that a range of criteria has been met

Practical activity

A practical activity is any activity that allows learners to demonstrate their practical skills. It normally involves making or building something. Candidates may be assessed on the end result of (the finished product), how they carry out the activity (the process) or both.

Practitioners

By practitioner, we mean a teacher, college lecturer or other education professional.

Progression

Progression means moving from one qualification to another. This can be vertically (moving on to a qualification at a higher level) or horizontally (moving on to a qualification at a similar level).

Project

A project is a task that requires the candidate to carry out research or investigation of a particular topic or area - often one of their choosing. Projects may involve candidates carrying out a large amount of work independently, without close supervision, however the teacher or lecturer may provide guidance and support.

Quality Assurance

Quality assurance ensures that rigorous and credible national standards are maintained.

SQA's approach to quality assurance is based on our principles of partnership, fairness and transparency and designed to support centres at all stages in their delivery of SQA qualifications.

Visit our Quality Assurance web page.

Question paper/test

Classroom-based tests are used in National 1 to National 4, where appropriate. They are assessed internally by the teacher or lecturer.

Question papers (exams) are part of the Course assessment from National 5 to Advanced Higher. They are assessed externally by SQA.

Question papers/tests provide opportunities to assess candidates' knowledge, understanding and cognitive skills (eg attention, memory, decision making, reasoning, and problem solving).

Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF)

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) is a way of comparing and understanding Scottish qualifications. It does this by giving qualifications a level and credit points. These tell you how difficult a qualification is, and how long it takes to achieve the qualification.

Visit our SCQF web page.

SCQF credit points

Credit points show the size of a qualification and how much work is involved in achieving it. One SCQF credit point equals about 10 hours of learning.

This is one way of comparing qualifications using the SCQF. The other way is by SCQF level.

SCQF level

The SCQF level shows how difficult a qualification is.

There are 12 levels on the SCQF. Level 1 is the least difficult and level 12 is the most difficult.

Skills for learning, life and work

A framework which outlines definitions of the five broad areas of generic skills that are essential for qualification development. These are: literacy, numeracy, health and wellbeing, employability, enterprise and citizenship, and thinking skills.

Visit our Skills for learning, life and work web page.

Summative assessment

Assessment which takes place at the end of a Course.

Units

Units are the building blocks we use to make up Courses. They may also be done as individual qualifications on a free-standing basis – known as free-standing units.

Validation

The process used by SQA to ensure qualifications are fit for purpose.

Verification

Part of our quality assurance process, to ensure all centres offering SQA qualifications are meeting the national standards.

Visit our Quality Assurance web page.