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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. For the most up-to-date information about Scottish qualifications, please visit the pages of the Scottish Qualification Authority. [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 particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private schools in Scotland may choose to use GCSEs from England.
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 the responsibility of the Scottish Government, and is overseen by its executive agency, Education Scotland.
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 and Lifelong Learning Directorate 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".
Higher National Diploma (HND), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is an academic higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and various other countries. They were first introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongside the Ordinary National Diploma and the Higher National Certificate. A qualification of the same title is also offered in Argentina, Brunei, India, Malta, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and some other countries with British ties.
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 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.
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 university if their grade is of satisfactory quality.
An academic certificate is a document that certifies that a person has received specific education or has passed a test or series of tests.
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 General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level, or A Level, is a main school leaving qualification in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It is available as an alternative qualification in other countries.
The Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) is a provider of secondary school leaving qualifications and further education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Whilst the T in BTEC previously stood for Technical, according to the DFE (2016) it now stands for Technology. BTECs originated in 1984 and were awarded by Edexcel from 1996. Their origins lie in the Business Education Council, formed in 1974 to "rationalise and improve the relevance of sub-degree vocational education". They are the responsibility of the Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education in the Department for Education.
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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