Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment: consultation analysis

Appendix B: School and College survey questionnaire

Q1. Background for Question

Subjects or Curricular Areas: In secondary schools for most learners this would involve progress in individual subjects, for some learners it would reflect progress in curricular areas; in colleges it would include progress in programmes of study.

Learning in Context: An interdisciplinary project-based approach where evidence is gathered on achievements between subjects and across knowledge, skills and competences in action.

A Personal Pathway: Here learners have opportunities to select aspects of their experiences that reflect their interests, the contributions they make to society and their career aspirations.

Question 1: Do the three areas described above offer learners the potential to gather and reflect a broader range of achievements important for their future progress? Is there anything you would add or delete?

Now, please look in detail at each of the three areas

Q2. Background for Subject Studies

In the Subject/Programme/Curriculum Area component of the award, learners would include the evidence of their particular areas of study.

Question 2: What are your views on the proposals for recognising achievements in subjects/curricular areas?

Q3. Background for Learning in Context

An interdisciplinary project-based approach where evidence is gathered on learners' achievements across knowledge, skills and competences in action. This part of the Scottish Diploma of Achievement offers learners opportunities to engage in activities that will allow them to demonstrate their abilities in using knowledge and skills in action.

Learners could undertake a project on a global issue, for example, climate change, social justice, or migration. For others, this might involve a local community task.

Learning in Context would allow learners to demonstrate a range of skills, eg, their ability to collaborate, to problem solve, to manage time and resources in an area that would inspire them to learn and, in a context, be closer to many real-life challenges they will face beyond school.

Question 3: What are your views on the proposals for recognising achievements in knowledge and skills in action?

Q4. Background to Personal Pathway

The third part of the Scottish Diploma of Achievement is the Personal Pathway: Designed to offer learners opportunities to select aspects of their experiences to reflect their interests, the contributions they make to society and their future aspirations.

Each learner would include evidence achievements in a range of areas.

• Social, e.g., contribution to school or to wider communities or caring responsibilities.
• Cultural, e.g., volunteering, engagement in cultural activities like, music, art, drama, Gaelic culture, sport, wider culture
• Economic, e.g., part-time employment, careers including enterprise, voluntary work.

Learners would be encouraged to gather their own evidence to illustrate their learning and progression. This might be in the form of a report but equally it could be photographs, recordings, pieces of video or a written statement. All evidence, including statements of involvement in activities, might be supported by individuals they have engaged with to validate participation and contribution.

Question 4: What are your views on the proposals designed to recognise achievements in respect of personal learning?

Question 5. What are your views on the idea of a Scottish Diploma of Achievement for all learners in Scotland?

Question 5a. If you support the idea in question 5, what actions should be taken to make this approach work in practice? What alternative would you propose that would be consistent with the vision and principles identified in Phase One of the Review?

Question 6. What changes to existing practice, if any, would you recommend to support the development of a new qualifications and assessment system? For example:

• Accountability - the ways information is gathered on the relative success of educational settings.
• Inspection
• Professional Learning
• Initial Teacher Education
• Professional Standards
• College and University Entrance
• Recruitment procedures for employers

Question 7. To promote parity of esteem across all qualifications, academic or technical and professional, should all qualifications at a particular SCQF level have the same name?

Question 8. Do you have any additional comments about the proposed approach to qualifications and assessment set out in this paper?

Question 9. Given we are now in the final phase of the Review we would be interested to receive any feedback on our approach to this important exercise.

Question 10. Please provide details of who has been involved in this response for example are you a group or an individual. Tick all that apply.

Please do not provide any personal information anywhere in this form including names or email addresses or other identifiers. If you have provided personal details in answering the questions above please go back and edit your answers to remove these.

• School community - Learner
• School community - Teachers
• School community - Non teaching staff
• School community - parents/carers
• School community - Local Primary school
• College community - Learner
• College community - Teaching staff
• College community - Non teaching staff
• Other e.g. I am an individual or a non school/college organisation
• Comments: Is there anything else we should know about your response. For example, you may wish to tell us how many people were involved in your group survey response. [NB – this option was added part-way through the consultation period to aid clarity]

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