Assessment arrangements FAQ

SQA can also provide adapted versions of coursework assessment tasks for Administration and IT and Accounting on request. These requests must be submitted to Assessment Arrangements. Please do not request these adaptions through the AAR system.

Exam question papers can be modified if there is colour content. See guidance for this in the following resource: Additional Guidance for Requesting Adapted Question Papers and Artwork through AAR (2.59 MB).

You can find this information in the following resource: Additional Guidance for Requesting Adapted Question Papers and Artwork through AAR (2.59 MB).

If candidates have a problem in Maths such as dyscalculia, sequencing problems, visual problems, short term, and long-term memory problems and if using calculator enables these candidates to bypass their difficulties, then the use of a basic non-scientific calculator in the non-calculator maths paper would be allowed.

Further information on the use of digital question papers can be located on page 14 of the Assessment Arrangement Explained (405 KB) document.

The amount of extra time required may vary according to the candidate’s individual needs. There must be appropriate evidence indicating the impact of the candidate’s disability on their ability to complete tasks in a specified time and that a specific amount of extra time is appropriate.

If a candidate is identified as requiring extra time in an internal assessment, you only need to seek approval from SQA for any assessments where the performance of a task in a specified time is an actual assessment requirement.

As long as your centre has evidence to support the need, a practical helper could be requested for health and safety reasons - the helper would be able to fetch, carry and hold steady equipment at the explicit instructions of the candidate. Further information and guidance can be located in the Assessment Arrangement Explained (405 KB) document.

Yes, a member of staff may act as a prompter to keep the candidate’s attention on task. The member of staff must not communicate with the candidate in relation to the production of any exam work. No advice must be given regarding which questions to answer, in which order the questions should be answered etc. The member of staff must not be the class teacher in the subject concerned or a relative who has a vested interest in the success of the candidate.

The reader cannot be the class teacher in the subject concerned or a relative who has a vested interest in the success of the candidate. Also, there should not be any conversation between the candidate and the reader.

Rest periods and supervised breaks are permitted during a timed assessment. The time taken for the break does not count towards the time allowed for the assessment concerned. It is the centre's responsibility to supervise the candidate if they are out of the room. This is not the invigilator’s responsibility.

Yes, as long as no other assessment arrangements are in place that may cause a distraction, for example, a reader, scribe or prompter. However, having a small number of candidates using ICT or who just need that separate accommodation is acceptable.

Yes, if your candidate has a significant spelling difficulty, the use of ICT with or without spellchecker can be requested through the AAR system.

Yes, speech recognition software can be used in examinations and assessments (including National 3 and 4 Literacy units and National courses in English). However, it is not allowed in the assessment of writing in Modern Languages and Gaelic (Learners).

You can find exam support forms at https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/8421.html.

For internal assessments, you do not need to seek approval from SQA to produce adapted assessment material in your centre, provided the adaptations made do not change the assessment standards or competence standards. If you are concerned that a particular adaptation may have changed the assessment standards, please contact our Assessment Arrangements Team for advice. It is essential to involve subject teachers, as they will know the extra demands that will be made of the candidate.

Any assessment arrangements required for disabled candidates in practical performance components such as Music, Dance, Drama and Modern Language Performance: Talking assessments must be agreed in advance with us. You should refer to the Key Dates section in Delivering National Qualifications: Guide for SQA Co-ordinators (available on SQA Connect) for the deadlines by which you must submit assessment arrangement requests. You must contact the Assessment Arrangements Team with details of the candidate and the assessment arrangement required for consideration as soon as possible.

Exam stress is normal so, for this to be considered as an Assessment Arrangement, there has to be something over and above this. For example, what support does the the learner currently get for their anxiety? Are you aware of ongoing support such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)? Is there anything that can be done to help alleviate their anxiety? Perhaps the learner may benefit from small group accommodation?

If you have a query about a particular assessment arrangement, please contact the Assessment Arrangements Team on 0345 213 6890 or by using our enquiry form.

For assessment arrangements, we use a needs-led model; this means that no formal diagnosis is required.

Each year in October, SQA will send an email to all SQA co-ordinators containing a user ID and security code which are required to register on the AAR system. You must keep this information securely as you will need them for setting your centre’s secure password, logging into the system, and any future password changes. The URL (web address) to access AAR is: https://aar.sqainfo.net.

On logging in, the Assessment Arrangements main menu will display a number of options whereby you can run reports, create new requests, and update existing requests etc. You can access and view the full system user guide on the SQA Secure website.

All dates for Assessment Arrangements are available in the Guide for SQA Coordinators on SQA Connect. You can also access updates that we publish regarding the AAR system (eg submission date deadlines) from the Information menu on the login page. Please check the Information section each time you access AAR.

We do not ask for a medical certificate as supporting evidence for granting assessment arrangements. However, if this has been provided by the candidate or parent/carer, then you can include this in the evidence. Your evidence of need for candidates requiring support should involve detailed records of need for each candidate and part of this evidence would include information and evidence from subject teachers about support needed and given in class. Further information relating to quality assurance can be found on our dedicated Quality Assurance page.

Guidance on evidence needed to support a request for an assessment arrangement, with examples of good practice and evidence requirements, which should help if SQA carries out a quality assurance visit, can be found on our Quality Assurance page. The Assessment Arrangements Toolkit also contains examples of how to gather evidence.

The evidence collated for learners who require assessment arrangements should be current and include detailed records of need for each learner. Part of this evidence would include information and evidence from subject teachers about what support is needed and provided in class. However, for learners who have long term records of needs and/or a disability, it is not necessary to gather evidence with and without the support each year. Once your centre has gathered evidence of the need for the assessment arrangement, for example at National 5, you would not need to gather this again for the same subject at Higher. However, because demands change at different levels of each qualification, there should always be current evidence to show that the centre has considered the learner's assessment needs as they progress and that the arrangements put in place are still appropriate. For example, there may be more demanding reading and writing at Higher and the centre must have evidence to show that they have considered this demand for each learner and that their need for a particular assessment arrangement has not changed.

The head of centre, or a member of senior management, is responsible for authorising the provision of an assessment arrangement in an internal assessment, or for submitting any request to us for an assessment arrangement in the external exams by the published deadline date.

Under our current policy, we do not allow the translation of examinations into a candidate's first language, neither would a candidate be able to write in their first language and have this translated into English. Questions in SQA examination question papers are carefully set and worded in a particular way to elicit a particular response from the candidate. SQA could not be sure that the translation of any question was conveyed to the candidate in exactly the same way as it had been written.

If a candidate requires the use of a bilingual dictionary for SQA examinations, you must submit a request by using the EAL spreadsheet. You can download this from the SQA Secure website by clicking on NQ, then Assessment Arrangements, and completing the fields on the spreadsheet, which is then sent via this form. There is guidance on completing the spreadsheet on the same page. Further details on the use of bilingual dictionaries can be found in the following resource: Use of a bilingual dictionary for candidates who have English as an additional language (130 KB) .

EAL candidates are allowed 10 minutes extra time per hour for the use of a bilingual dictionary in the external examination. If the candidate does not require the use of a dictionary the extra time is not permitted.

The bilingual dictionary is not permitted in external examinations in English, ESOL or the candidate’s first language. Further details can be found in the following resource: Use of a bilingual dictionary for candidates who have English as an additional language (164 KB).

If a candidate requires the use of a bilingual dictionary for SQA examinations, you must submit a request by using the EAL spreadsheet. You can download this from the SQA Secure website by clicking on NQ, then Assessment Arrangements, and completing the fields on the spreadsheet, which is then sent via this form. There is guidance on completing the spreadsheet on the same page. Further details on the use of bilingual dictionaries can be found in the following resource: Use of a bilingual dictionary for candidates who have English as an additional language (164 KB).

The dictionaries permitted are English/first language (word for word) dictionaries that do not contain explanations or definitions of words or phrases. It is the centre’s responsibility, prior to the examination, to check that the dictionaries to be used by candidates are clean copies of English/first language (word for word) dictionaries. Further information can be found in the following resource: Use of a bilingual dictionary for candidates who have English as an additional language (164 KB).

While we empathise with the challenges facing the refugee community, SQA is currently unable to support the use of translation apps during our exams. The use of a bilingual translation dictionary is available for all learners who speak English as an additional language – this is not considered an assessment arrangement. We understand, however, that these learners may also have other difficulties. Therefore, you may wish to consider assessment arrangements.

The questions in SQA exam papers are carefully set and worded in a particular way to elicit a particular response from the learner. SQA could not be sure that the translation of any question was conveyed to the learner in the same way as it had been written. Therefore, our current policy does not allow the translation of exams into a learner's first language, neither would the learner be able to write in their first language and have this translated into English.

Yes, centres are permitted to change the start times of examinations up to 30 minutes before or after the official start time without seeking approval from SQA. If you need to adjust the times by more than this, you will need to provide us with details of the proposed changes to the timetable. You can find the Request for Change of Timetable form on the SQA website.

No, candidates are not permitted the use of an English dictionary in SQA examinations. In the case of a candidate who has English as an additional language, a bi-lingual dictionary (word for word, with no explanations) can be used - except in English, ESOL or an examination in the candidate’s first language.

Centres are advised that if a candidate's writing is illegible and a marker would have difficulty in deciphering the candidate's writing, then the candidate should use ICT in their exams. You can download the Non-AA ICT spreadsheet from the SQA Secure website by clicking on NQ then Assessment Arrangements and completing it using Microsoft Excel.

You can find past exam papers using our past papers tool on the SQA website.

Temporary disability arrangements for internal assessments do not need to be requested with SQA unless you feel that the provision of these arrangements may compromise the integrity of the assessment. If arrangements are required for an external examination, please contact assessment arrangements. 

Candidates who do not have additional support needs may use ICT without spellchecker in an external exam provided the centre has requested this arrangement with SQA and the strict conditions as detailed in the SQA Coordinator’s Guide have been followed. There should be no connection to Internet or any networks.

It is your decision on how long you keep information pertaining to a learner's assessment arrangements needs, based on your retention periods. We would expect that all relevant current evidence is retained for at least one academic year if your centre is selected for audit on assessment arrangements. If your centre has been selected for an audit visit, you will normally be advised by the end of August. You may also want to consult your local authority procedures on General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and retention periods.