Qualifications Update: Higher Politics Jane Henderson QDM

1. Qualifications Update: Higher Politics Jane Henderson QDM

2. Key messages • Coherent progression from related National 5 subjects to Higher Politics • Relevant,challenging and enjoyable contexts • Opportunities for candidates to show the breadth and depth of what they know • Opportunities for candidates to show the application of their Politics skills • Personalisation and choice for learners in the Assignment

3. Key messages • Units combine skills and knowledge and offer flexibility in how evidence is gathered, to challenge and motivate learners • Knowledge and understanding and the application of skills build progressively up levels in Unit and in Course assessment • Maintains many of the best aspects of current Higher while offering learning contexts that ensure the continuing quality and credibility of Politics

4. Changes to mandatory documents • Feedback from SQA development team, Qualification Design team, Principal Assessor and the question paper team identified a small number of necessary changes to clarify and improve: • Alignment with SCQF level 6 • Unit Outcomes and Assessment Standards • Description of mandatory content in the Course Assessment Specification

5. Next steps • Forthcoming and previously published Unit Assessment Support Packs are based on the revised Unit Specifications • Specimen Question Paper and Assignment published February - April 2014 will align with the revised Course Assessment Specification • Final versions of Higher documents – in all subjects – published in June 2014

6. Assessment Support Schedule 2013/14

7. PoliticsUnit AssessmentHigher Elaine Walls QDC

8. Unit assessment • Supports assessment as part of learning and teaching • Is flexible in the ways in which evidence can be generated • Open in the context which is used and in the form of the evidence

9. Unit Assessment Support packages – purpose • Assess your candidates • Adapt in line with your own assessment strategy • Help you develop your own assessments

10. Unit Assessment Support Packages – key features • Tell you – with examples – how to judge evidence against Assessment Standards • Provide further clarification of the Assessment Standards • Encourage and support professional judgment • Include advice on adapting to different contexts • Valid from August 2014

11. Unit assessment support packages - approaches • Unit by Unit approach – discrete assessment tasks for each Unit • Combined approach – groups Outcomes and Assessment Standards from different Units • Portfolio approach – evidence generated Assessment Standard by Assessment Standard

12. Assessment Packages

13. Assessment Pack 2 • 3 Tasks • Task 1 - links • Also includes advice on how to adapt the task • Evidence in one form may be supplemented with evidence in other forms

14. Document read-through • Overview of Assessment • Contains an outline of the example task • Also includes advice on how to adapt the task • Evidence in one form may be supplemented with evidence in other forms

15. Document read-through • Assessment Conditions • Level of teacher/lecturer support should be appropriate but evidence must be the candidate's own work • When group work is used, evidence of individual achievement is required • Centres responsibility to ensure that all evidence is the individual candidate’s work

16. Document read-through • Assessment Conditions (continued) • SQA has left the conditions of assessment at Unit level open and flexible • Candidates should have sufficient time to complete the task • Candidates should have access to appropriate resources to undertake the assessment • Do not inflate the standard by applying conditions not required by the Assessment Standards • Consistency in the application of these conditions National 3 – Higher

17. Document read-through • Evidence to be gathered • A range of possible forms of evidence may be appropriate • Keep accurate records of the evidence gathered and the assessment decisions made • Only need sufficient evidence to show achievement of the Assessment Standards once

18. Document read-through • Judging Evidence • Table tells you how to judge evidence against the Assessment Standards • Illustrations of possible candidate responses • Approach used can change, Assessment Standards do not change • Columns 1 – 3 are fixed, column 4 will vary with the task

19. Document read-through • Re-assessment arrangements • Assessment should be carried out when the individual candidate is ready • If a candidate fails to provide evidence for all the Assessment Standards, it is only necessary to re-assess the individual Assessment Standard that they have yet to achieve

20. Document read-through • Examples of recording documentation • Exemplar tables for recording candidate’s/group’s achievement of Assessment Standards • These can be adapted as required

21. Document read-through • Assessment Task • Aligns with the prompts in the Overview of Assessment section • Exemplifies one context in which Unit assessment may take place

22. Workshop 1 • Use the materials provided: • In groups of 2-3 discuss: • The assessment task in the Unit Assessment Support provided • How to generate evidence for the UAS provided • How to make assessment judgements for the UAS provided

23. Workshop 1 Use the materials provided: • read the UASP (10 mins) focus on the candidate task and the judging the evidence table In groups of 2-3 discuss: • how you would use or adapt the task provided (20 minutes) • how column 4 illustrates the standard defined in column 3 (15 minutes) • the ways in which Unit assessment fits in with your overall assessment strategy (15 minutes) • what will you take back to your centre to support others?

24. Politics Higher Course Assessment Alan Barclay QDC

25. Context and Rationale for development of Higher Politics • Level of demand benchmarked against SCQF level 6 as in current Higher • Although direct progression and articulation from National 5 not an issue – need to consider prior experience • CfE principles e.g. personalisation and choice, importance of skills • Opportunity to refresh and update content and contexts • Consistency with and distinction from other Highers • FIOCA provides further detail

26. Process of Development • Course Specification – Aims and rationale of the Higher Politics Course • Unit Specifications – Skills developed across all Units and assessed within specified contexts • Course Assessment Specification – Requirements for Question Paper and Assignment – application of skills to mandatory content

27. Added Value • Makes the Course more than the sum of its parts • Builds on current Course assessment and Group Award approaches • Defined as breadth, challenge and application as outlined in Building the Curriculum 5 • May involve accumulation, assimilation, integration and/or application of skills, knowledge and understanding • Uses one or two of 7 defined assessment methods

28. Adding Value – National 4, National 5, Higher • For National 4, the added value is assessed in the Added Value Unit - not graded • For National 5 and Higher (and Advanced Higher) the added value is assessed in the Course Assessment - graded A - D (as at present)

29. Higher – Course Assessment • Two components • Question Paper: 60 marks - 66% (75% at National 5) • Assignment 30: marks - 33% (25% at National 5) • Skills and knowledge and understanding will have equal importance across course assessment as a whole • Both components will be externally marked

30. Higher – Question Paper • Three sections each worth 20 marks: Political Theory, Political Systems and Political Parties and Elections There will be a choice of questions in each section • Mandatory content will be sampled • Will assess the skills of analysing and evaluating, and draw on detailed knowledge and understanding of complex issues as well as applying information handling skills (source based questions) of comparing and interpreting electoral data • Greater emphasis on knowledge and understanding than skills • Range of marks – 8, 12 or 20

31. Higher – Question Paper • In the Political Theory Section; candidates will have a choice of one from two extended response questions. There will be a wider choice of ideologies. • In the Political Systems Section; candidates will have a choice of one from two extended response questions. They will be able to answer in the contexts of Scotland, the United Kingdom, the USA or the European Union. • In the Political Parties and Elections Section; candidates will have a choice of one from two extended response questions. There are both familiar and new contexts in this section. • There will be no choice of source based questions

32. Higher – Question Paper A limited range of command words/question stems will be used in the paper for extended response questions: • Compare … • Analyse … • Evaluate … • Discuss … • To what extent … Greater clarity and support for centres in general marking principles and detailed marking instructions as to how these questions will be marked

33. Higher – Question Paper “Compare” questions require candidates to… Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of similarities and/or differences. SQA Guidance Comparison will derive from a body of knowledge and understanding.

34. Higher – Question Paper “Analyse” questions require candidates to… Identify parts, the relationship between them, and their relationships with the whole. Draw out and relate implications. SQA Guidance Analysis will derive from a body of knowledge and understanding.

35. Higher – Question Paper “Evaluate” questions require candidates to… Make a judgement based on criteria. SQA Guidance Evaluation will derive from a body of knowledge and understanding. Candidates will make a judgment(s), reach a conclusion(s), make evaluative comments

36. Higher – Question Paper “Discuss” and “To what extent” questions require candidates to… Analyse and Evaluate and present a logical and coherent line of argument Analysis and evaluation will derive from a body of knowledge and understanding.

37. Higher – Question Paper Source based questions require candidates to… Apply skills to a range of detailed/complex sources “Compare” questions will require candidates to compare information from 2 sources of evidence and identify and explain differences/similarities and reach conclusions “Evaluate electoral data” questions will require candidates to analyse/evaluate between 2 and 3 sources of information and make an overall judgement based on evidence

38. Controlled Assessment • Where the assessment method is not a question paper, SQA has introduced the concept of controlled assessment to ensure fairness and reliability • Three stages of assessment: Setting, Conducting, Marking the assessment • Each will have a defined level of control: SQA-led activity, Shared responsibility between SQA and centres, Centre-led • Subject-specific decisions, but mostly SQA-led activity in initial years

39. Higher – Assignment • Opportunity for learner personalisation and choice • Candidates will have an open choice of Political Issue • Marked out of 30 • Externally marked • Evidence produced in controlled conditions in up to one hour 30 minutes • Assesses the results of their research and the application of skills

40. Higher – Assignment • Greater emphasis on skills than knowledge and understanding • SQA will provide General Assessment Information and the Assessment Task • Task does not change from year to year • Detailed marking instructions available and can be shared with candidates • Guide to candidates will be provided

41. Workshop 2 • Use the materials provided: • In groups of 2-3 discuss: • the requirements of the Higher Course assessment • How these requirements build on the Higher Units • How these requirements build on prior experience • Materials provided: • Further Information on Course Assessment

42. Workshop 2 Use the materials provided: • read the FIOCA (10 mins) In groups of 2-3 discuss: • the relationship between assessment at Unit level and Course level (10 minutes) • aspects of your current practice which you plan to continue (15 minutes) • aspects of your current practice which you plan to change (15 minutes) • what will you take back to your centre to support others? (Add key points to Worksheet)