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38-776: An Advanced Higher is the highest certificate offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority as part of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework . An Advanced Higher qualification is essentially a simulation of the first year of university in that particular subject; this is the reason that Advanced Highers can be used for second-year university entry. Universities in Scotland traditionally tended to take students with only NQ Higher or A-level qualifications, but many have since begun to take students with qualifications gained elsewhere in

76-627: A Modern Apprenticeship scheme along with SVQs. SVQs are developed by United Kingdom employers in tandem with National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) for England , Wales and Northern Ireland . SVQ are assessed in the workplace (or closely regulated training workshops) by employers, training providers or colleges approved and monitored by the SQA (or other awarding bodies) accredited by its independent Accreditation Unit . Qualifications aimed at students in their first two years of Higher Education include HNCs ( Higher National Certificates )—taken as

114-463: A basic level. Each candidate had to pass a certain number of NABs (usually three) before they could be presented for the final examination. Students for National Qualifications receive their results on, generally, the first Tuesday in August. Students signed up for the authority's MySQA system are able to check their record online throughout the year and get their exam results by text and/or email on

152-462: A one-year full-time course or as a two-year part-time course—and HNDs ( Higher National Diplomas ). These qualifications are extremely popular in colleges, workplaces and community education centres in Scotland, the rest of the UK and throughout the world. These include specific qualifications for those with severe to moderate difficulties (Access), the right to aid in completing assessments (for example,

190-624: A review by the OECD . Despite such announcements, the SQA continues to function for the academic year 2023-24 and, as announced 9 March 2022, the authority will not be replaced until 2024. The SQA's functions and responsibilities are laid out in the Education (Scotland) Act 1996 as amended by the Scottish Qualifications Authority Act 2002 . Until their merger, the two major Scottish examination authorities were

228-399: A scribe) and the right to challenge any unfair or artificial barrier in the rules for any qualification. There is a suite of National Units addressing the needs of economic migrants, asylum seekers and (the biggest group) those seeking to master English before returning to their own countries. It has also developed qualifications for those seeking to teach English to refugees. SQA is one of

266-486: A statutory responsibility to accredit (formally, scrutinise them and confirm that they conform to agreed UK criteria) vocational qualifications. None of its qualifications, still less its vocational qualifications, is protected by statute, but the Authority has a largely dominant position within all sectors of qualifications within Scotland. SQA awards are also exported to a number of countries including China , Africa ,

304-566: A technical error with St Andrew's University 's website also leaked the results of applicants. Due to the high volume of exam marking with the Scottish examination boards and those across the rest of the UK, where it is thought that exam marking inaccuracies may occur, there are each year a vast number of students requesting for an exam "re-mark". After the SQA introduced fees, requests for exam remarking fell by 55,000 students—a decline of 77%. In order to fight (supposed) grade inflation within

342-564: A wide-ranging catalogue of National Units . The actual programme may be very rigidly prescribed by employers or be entirely freely chosen by the student to meet particular needs. The prescribed programmes may be recognised by a National Certificate or a Scottish Progression Award . Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQ) are an award for vocational education and training awarded by the SQA or other approved awarding bodies in conjunction with industry bodies. Scottish National Qualifications and Scottish Progression Awards are often important in

380-473: Is attributed to the Advanced Higher. However, Churchill College, Cambridge was/is the first Oxbridge College to state that their typical offer for Scottish students will be A1, A1, A2 at Advanced Higher. The following subjects are available at Advanced Higher: Scottish Qualifications Authority The Scottish Qualifications Authority ( SQA ; Gaelic : Ùghdarras Theisteanas na h-Alba )

418-535: Is awarded on the Scottish Qualifications Certificate . National Qualifications were redesigned as follows in 2013: According to the SQA, the new qualifications have "more focus on skills development compared to the existing qualifications ... There is also a greater emphasis on 'deeper learning' by helping learners to think for themselves; to apply and interpret the knowledge and understanding they have developed and to demonstrate

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456-569: Is the executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educational awards. It is partly funded by the Education, Communities and Justice Directorates of the Scottish Government , and employs approximately 750 staff based in Glasgow and Dalkeith . SQA is best known for the delivery of the annual diet of public examinations within Scotland for school pupils. SQA Higher examinations are

494-514: The Chief Executive Ron Tuck, resigned or were fired. The Scottish Candidate Number (SCN) (formerly SCOTVEC number) is allocated to pupils at school and in further-education colleges who undertake Scottish Qualifications Authority (formerly SCOTVEC or Scottish Examination Board) courses. SQA has a statutory responsibility to provide public examinations for Scottish state schools, though these are also used more widely. It has

532-685: The Middle East , Russia and former Soviet republics and other countries. SQA also provides the licensing certification for many merchant navies throughout the world. A National Qualification (NQ) takes the form of National Courses. Standard Grades were in existence before the Higher Still reforms. There were three Standard Grade Levels: Foundation, General and Credit. They were normally set at age 14–15 (sometimes at age 16 for students whose birthdays are before May), usually when attending High School . National Courses were introduced with

570-596: The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework or SCQF . Every Scottish qualification—from the Access level for those with learning difficulties to a Doctorate and including vocational as well as ESOL and BSL qualifications—is allocated a level and credit value within this framework, which all partners have agreed to recognise. The Higher Maths exam sat by students in May 2015 was said to be far too difficult. This evoked heated debates among students, teachers and educationalists;

608-768: The Scottish Examination Board (SEB) and the Scottish Vocational Education Council (SCOTVEC). The former issued the school-level examinations, then called Standard Grade, Higher Grade and Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS). A legacy of its two precursor bodies, the Authority's offices remain split over two sites, one in Glasgow and one in Dalkeith . Under a major reform of Scottish exams (the National Qualifications or "Higher Still" reforms),

646-413: The "Higher Still" reforms. There are seven National Courses: National 1, National 2, National 3, National 4, National 5, Higher, Advanced Higher. National Courses can be taken in a wide range of subjects, from the purely academic, such as English and Mathematics —to the purely vocational, such as Accounting and Mental Health Care . A Course Assessment is normally taken at the end of a one-year course in

684-592: The CSYS was replaced with a broadly equivalent qualification called Advanced Higher. Some curriculum changes were also made to the Higher grade at this time. The introduction of the reformed examinations system was criticised in the press and by the government after a series of administrative and computer errors led to several thousand incorrect Higher and Intermediate certificates being sent out. The crisis took several months to resolve, and several management figures, including

722-547: The SQA had moderated downwards 124,000 grades from up to 75,000 pupils. This received criticism from candidates, teachers and politicians in all political parties in Scotland. The subsequent criticism was heavily featured on social media and national news. On 11 August, it was subsequently announced during an emergency statement by the Scottish education secretary that the SQA would reverse all downgraded results, while leaving upwards moderated results in situ. The change's resulting unprecedented increase in year-on-year performance

760-508: The SQA's guidance on the 2022 exams were leaked via Twitter. The content of the guidance was described as "woefully inadequate" and in many cases provided no clarification for what to expect in an exam paper. The Higher and National 5 Engineering Science exams in May 2024 were disrupted and faced criticism due to an error by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), which resulted in an incorrect edition of

798-484: The Scottish education sector, SQA has introduced academically and cognitively more rigorous examination standards and stricter marking; this resulted in strong criticism towards the SQA exam board and in decreases of exam pass rates of up to 15%. There are the many qualifications often imperfectly referred to as vocational , though these are frequently stepping-stones for students at Scottish Colleges of Further Education to pursue one- or two- year programmes tailored from

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836-647: The UK or, as with the University of Glasgow , for example; an International Baccalaureate and American qualifications such as a High School Diploma in combination of SAT / ACT scores and SAT Subject Tests or Advanced Placement exams. The Advanced Higher is Level 7 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework . Advanced Highers were introduced to replace the Sixth Year Studies Certificate (often abbreviated to CSYS or just SYS ). The final CSYS exams were taken by students at

874-433: The corresponding grade boundaries for the respective exam were thus adjusted accordingly, with a pass mark as low as 34%. The SQA later admitted that one of their Higher Maths exam papers had been unusually hard and unfit for purpose. Several exams that were set from the SQA in 2016 were criticised by pupils, parents, teachers and MSPs. The National 5 Maths exam, sat on 12 May 2016, in particular Paper 1 (non-calculator),

912-460: The data booklet being provided to candidates. Some examination centres were able to resolve this issue by distributing the correct data booklet. Blank emails on Results Day On Results Day at 8am, candidates receiving their results by email got a blank email which didn’t contain their grades. This reportedly affected over 7,000 students who signed up exclusively to receive their grades by email. The SQA’s Chief Examiner Fiona Robertson apologised for

950-416: The day that the results are issued. Those signed up to the service received their results one day earlier than the official postal results. This also occurred in subsequent years, however only due to a mistake by the company holding the results. In another incident, the SQA itself sent the results out on the right day, but Robert Gordon University 's business school leaked whether students had been let in, and

988-425: The early summer. In addition to traditional National Qualification Courses, a new suite of "pre-vocational" courses entitled "Skills for Work" was rolled out. Primarily available at Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2 levels, these prevocational courses, aim to give students an awareness of the workplace environment, the skills required for entry to an industry as well as generic employment skills. Each of these Courses

1026-687: The end of the Sixth Form studies. The UCAS tariff of valuing qualifications for university entry has increased its scores for Advanced Highers at A, B and C in comparison to the past. Advanced Highers now attract more UCAS tariff points than A-Levels at the same grades. Also, research studies have revealed a major gap of performance on Advanced Highers examinations between different schools sectors (i.e. private schools' students attaining, on average, higher results than state schools' students). Some English Universities, such as Oxford University and Cambridge University , have begun to take into account

1064-468: The exam, he defended teachers and students who thought that this was the worst exam ever set by the SQA. The SQA later admitted that the exam had mistakes. The SQA faced criticism for the 2018 National 5 History exam as the wrong date was given for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots . While the SQA insist their mistake did not disadvantage any pupil, teachers disagreed, saying that the mistake meant that pupils second guessed their knowledge. The mistake

1102-541: The four partner national organisations involved in the Curriculum for Excellence . It works with partners on all strands of the development. Its principal role is to contribute to work on qualifications and assessment. SQA's role in Curriculum for Excellence is to design and develop the new qualifications and assessment. SQA has joined with Universities Scotland, QAA Scotland and the Scottish Government to create

1140-429: The general acceptable level for entry to university, with Scottish universities usually requesting a minimum of 3 Highers, all above C level. However, a greater number of candidates of all ages participate in SQA specialist, vocational and higher education qualifications. SQA is accredited by the UK government to offer educational qualifications. On 21 June 2021, it was announced that the SQA would be replaced following

1178-650: The incident and it was remidied by 10am. Scottish Examination Board The Scottish Examination Board ( SEB ), formerly known as the Scottish Certificate of Education Examination Board ( SCEEB ), was the academic examination board for Scottish schools from 1965 to 1997. From their introduction in 1888 until 1964, Scottish school qualifications were awarded directly by the UK Government's Scottish Education Department . The Scottish Certificate of Education Examination Board (SCEEB)

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1216-522: The skills they have learned." National 1-4 are assessed internally by the student's own institution, subject to regulation by the SQA. National 5 courses and above have internal assessments, followed by an externally marked exam. With the introduction of Highers, Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2 courses, the SQA also introduced a National Assessment Bank of short examinations for each subject. These were more commonly known as NABs or unit assessments, and contained questions from specific academic units at

1254-522: The wider syllabus involved in studying Advanced Highers and have been giving slightly lower conditions for entry into their institutions. Oxford University's admissions forms require schools to comment on the percentage of students achieving the top grades in examinations, presumably to provide contextual background to the achievements of a particular student. The question is framed in terms of the percentage of candidates achieving AAA+ at A-level and AAB+ for Advanced Higher, possibly indicating that greater value

1292-460: Was also criticised by students after being considered much more difficult than previous years. A petition was created by students which was to be sent to the SQA demanding to know why the exam was exceedingly difficult, and it gained over 25,000 signatures. Scottish Green MSP, Ross Greer criticised the SQA for mistakes in the National 5 Computing Science exam and called for an investigation into

1330-460: Was created by pupils, demanding that the pass mark be lowered. SQA defended the examinations, claiming that they were fair tests of the subject. Due to the coronavirus pandemic , the SQA cancelled the 2020 exam diet. This was the first time in SQA's history that all exams were cancelled. Grades were given based on results in preliminary examinations and predicted grades from teachers. After pupils received their results on 4 August, it emerged that

1368-578: Was criticised by many including historian Tom Devine , who called the error "unacceptable". Certain exams set by SQA in 2019 have received widespread criticism from pupils, parents, and teaching staff within schools and colleges. The National 5 and Higher Biology and Human Biology exams, which took place on 30 April 2019, received criticism from candidates on social media, and featured on national news. They claimed they bore no resemblance to previous papers, and relied too heavily on problem solving and mathematics skills as opposed to biology content. A petition

1406-489: Was established in 1964 to take over the awarding of Scottish school qualifications from 1965. The SCEEB became known as the Scottish Examination Board (SEB) in 1982. The SEB used to administer all of Scotland's academic qualifications, including Standard Grades and Highers . On 1 April 1997, the Scottish Examination Board merged with the Scottish Vocational Education Council (SCOTVEC) to form

1444-772: Was said to be 'outweighed' by the concerns of those affected and the loss of faith in the system. On 7 October 2020, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the SQA announced that the National 5 exams for 2021 were to be cancelled, but Highers and Advanced Highers would still go ahead. However, on 8 December 2020, Scottish Education Secretary John Swinney announced that the Highers and Advanced Highers would also be cancelled, meaning all SQA exams in 2021 would not go ahead, with grades for all levels being decided instead by teacher judgement. After announcing in February 2022, that exams would be shifting to 'Scenario 2'. On 7 March 2022,

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