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National Qualifications (NQs) are qualifications studied in secondary schools and colleges of further education in Scotland. There used to be three types of National Qualification - Standard Grades, National Courses and National Units. [1]
Standard Grades are a now discontinued qualification. [2] They were mainly studied over two years during the third and fourth years of secondary schooling. There were three level in Standard Grade—Credit, General and Foundation—with Credit passes normally being expected for pupils to have a reasonable prospect at success studying that subject at Higher level the following year.
National Courses were first introduced in the 2013/2014 examination diet. They include Nationals 1-5, (New) Higher and (New) Advanced Higher. National 4 replaced Standard Grade General and National 5 replaced Standard Grade Credit. For more the most up-to-date information on Scottish qualifications, please visit the SQA website. [1]
They were originally introduced as the step following on from Standard Grade and were offered at Higher level, but also at lower levels than Higher to allow further opportunities for pupils to progress. Immediately below Higher level was Intermediate 2 which was broadly the level of Credit at Standard Grade; below that Intermediate 1 which was broadly the level of General at Standard Grade. Access 3 was broadly the level of Foundation at Standard Grade, and below that Access 2 and Access 1 for those pupils who required additional learning support.
Above Higher level is Advanced Higher which would normally be studied by pupils who have passed a group of Highers but have decided to study at Secondary school for a sixth year before going on to University.
To pass a National Course (such as for example, Higher Mathematics), students had to pass a number of National Units that were internally assessed, as well as pass a final externally assessed examination. Unit assessments are unseen and should a student fail an assessment opportunity, only one re-sit opportunity is provided using a fresh unseen assessment. (A second re-sit opportunity is only allowed in exceptional circumstances.) Failure to pass a National Unit at Higher level would mean that a student would be unable to pass the National Course at Higher level that year, though they may successfully complete a number of National Units.
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. Public7 schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. However, private schools in Scotland often choose to follow the English GCSE system.
The General Certificate of Education (GCE) is a subject-specific family of academic qualifications used in awarding bodies in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Crown dependencies and a few Commonwealth countries. For some time, the Scottish education system has been different from those in the other countries of the United Kingdom.
Education in Scotland is provided in state schools, private schools and by individuals through homeschooling. Mandatory education in Scotland begins for children in Primary 1 (P1) at primary school and ends in Fourth Year (S4) at secondary school. Overall accountability and control of state–education in Scotland rests with the Scottish Government, and is overseen by its executive agency, Education Scotland, with additional responsibility for nursery schools being the joint responsibility of both Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate. Scotland's private schools are overseen by the Scottish Council of Independent Schools. Children in Scotland sit mandatory National Standardised Assessments in Primary 1 (P1), Primary 4 (P4), Primary 7 (P7) at the end of primary school, and Third Year (S3) in secondary school, which assist in monitoring children's progress and providing diagnostic data information to support teachers' professional judgement.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority 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.
Standard Grades were Scotland's educational qualifications for students aged around 14 to 16 years. Introduced in 1986, the Grades were replaced in 2013 with the Scottish Qualifications Authority's National exams in a major shake-up of Scotland's education system as part of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework overhaul.
In the Scottish secondary education system, the Higher is one of the national school-leaving certificate exams and university entrance qualifications of the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) offered by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. It superseded the old Higher Grade on the Scottish Certificate of Education (SCE). Both are normally referred to simply as "Highers".
The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the official secondary-school qualification in New Zealand. Phased in between 2002 and 2004, it replaced three older secondary-school qualifications. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority administers NCEA.
The Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) was a subject-specific qualification family awarded in both academic and vocational fields in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. CSE examinations were held in the years 1965 to 1987. This qualification should not be confused with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education which is a school-leaving qualification in India. Also, in some African and former British colonial countries there is a qualification named the Certificate of Secondary Education based on the original and former British variant. Also, the CSE should not be confused with the African qualification CSEE.
The Ordinary Grade of the Scottish Certificate of Education is a now-discontinued qualification which was studied for as part of the Scottish secondary education system. It could be considered broadly equivalent to the old English O-Level qualification and is the predecessor to the Standard Grade.
Curriculum 2000 was a reform of A Level examinations in the United Kingdom. It was introduced in September 2000. An A Level under this reform consists of four or six units studied over two years. Normally, two or three units are assessed at the end of the first year, and make up a stand-alone Advanced Subsidiary qualification. Another two or three modules are assessed at the end of the second year, which make up the A2 Level. A2 units do not form a qualification in their own right; the satisfactory completion of the AS and A2 units in the same subject is required to constitute a complete A Level qualification.
The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is the credential awarded to students who have completed senior secondary education in the state of Western Australia. It is the Western Australian graduation certificate of the Australian Senior Secondary Certificate of Education. Students are required to meet various breadth and depth requirements, achievement standards and literacy and numeracy standards across their final years of schooling. As of the 2020 WACE, there are 106 courses available for students to study. Many WACE students are awarded an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), summarising their results across all areas of study into one ranking for the purposes of university admission. Students may choose from ATAR courses, which count directly towards their ATAR, Vocational Education and Training courses, which are more practical courses and can lead to further vocational opportunities, and, from 2021, General courses, which provide pathways to university, employment, or further vocational education and training. From 2010, the WACE replaced the Tertiary Entrance Exam (TEE), as the standard academic examination for school leavers in Western Australia.
Intermediate 2 level is Level 5 on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework; it was the level between Higher and Standard Grade Credit.
Intermediate 1 is an educational qualification in Scotland on the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC) achievement ladder similar to General Level at Standard Grades; it is the next step after Access 3. It is delivered by the majority of Scottish secondary schools as part of the Higher Still reforms instituted in 2000 by the SQA and the Scottish Executive.
National Assessment Banks, commonly referred to as NABs after the National Assessment Bank from which these assessments are selected by teachers, are internal assessments that used to form part of the Scottish Higher and Intermediate courses. These were assessed by a centre and are moderated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Candidates sitting a courses at Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, Higher and Advanced Higher levels were required to have passed a NAB for each unit in order to sit the end of course examination. The NAB examinations are, as of 2010, no longer compulsory, and pupils can sit the final examination without sitting a NAB. Often, pupils must pass a prelim to sit the final exam.
This is an article about the grading used below degree level in most of the United Kingdom. The entire United Kingdom does not use the same grading scheme. For a degree level, see British undergraduate degree classification.
The A-level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational authorities of British Crown dependencies to students completing secondary or pre-university education. They were introduced in England and Wales in 1951 to replace the Higher School Certificate. The A-level permits students to have potential access to a chosen university they applied to with UCAS points. They could be accepted into it should they meet the requirements of the university.
In the UK education sector, there are a wide range of qualification types offered by the United Kingdom awarding bodies. Qualifications range in size and type, can be academic, vocational or skills-related, and are grouped together into different levels of difficulty. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, qualifications are divided into Higher Education qualifications, which are on the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (FHEQ) and are awarded by bodies with degree awarding powers, and Regulated qualifications, which are on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) and are accredited by Ofqual in England, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment in Northern Ireland and Qualifications Wales in Wales. In Scotland, qualifications are divided into Higher Education qualifications, Scottish Qualifications Authority qualifications and Scottish Vocational Qualifications/Modern Apprenticeships, which are on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). Scottish Higher Education Qualifications are on both the SCQF and the FHEQ.
The A-level is a main school leaving qualification of the General Certificate of Education in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It is available as an alternative qualification in other countries, where it is similarly known as an A-Level.
Secondary education in Scotland can take up to 6 years, covering ages 11 to 18, from S1 to S6. Education is not compulsory after the age of 16, the age of majority in Scots law.
The national qualification frameworks in the United Kingdom are qualifications frameworks that define and link the levels and credit values of different qualifications.
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