New Advanced Higher Subject Implementation Events History:

Unit Assessment at Advanced Higher

Unit Assessment – Recap Flexible and open Assessment Standards and Evidence

Requirements in Units

Greater range of techniques and methodologies for assessment

Assessments can be designed to provide evidence across more than one Assessment Standard or Outcome

More opportunities to gather naturally occurring evidence – assessment as part of learning and teaching

Unit Assessment Support Purpose

As at Higher, Assessment Support can be used to:

•Assess your candidates

•Adapt for your own assessment programmes

•Help you develop your own assessments

Unit Assessment Support at Advanced Higher – Key Features

• Valid from August 2015

• Complements and supports learning and teaching

• Assess competence against Unit Outcomes and Assessment Standards

• Designed to encourage professional judgement

• Provide broad-based tasks – allow assessors to choose appropriate context and forms of evidence

• Show range of approaches to generating assessment evidence

• Requirements to pass Unit assessment are aligned with requirements of Course assessment (marking instructions)

Unit Assessment Support Packs 1 – 3

Pack 1 •Historical Study - discrete assessment task in the context of Germany from Democracy to Dictatorship, 1918 – 1939•Researching Historical Issues - Portfolio approach

Pack 2 •Historical Study – discrete assessment task in the context of Britain at War and Peace, 1938 to 1951Br

Pack 3 •Historical Study – Portfolio approach

Assessment Support Example

Pack 1 consists of two documents:

1.Historical Study - discrete assessment task in the context of Germany from Democracy to Dictatorship 1918 - 19392.Researching Historical Issues - Portfolio approach

Each document includes: advice on task/prompts examples of candidate responses advice/examples of using evidence to meet multiple Assessment Standards

Unit Assessment Pack 1 1. Historical Study

• Task, in the context of Germany from democracy to dictatorship, 1918 – 1939

• Exemplifies one way of adapting the task prompts into a different context

• Exemplifies minimum competence to pass Unit assessment

• Judging Evidence Table includes examples of appropriate candidate responses

• Advice on re-assessment, conditions, judging evidence etc, consistent with National 3 – Higher

Unit Assessment Pack 12. Researching Historical Issues

Develops the skills necessary for the dissertationSome evidence for this Unit may come from dissertation Some evidence will come from discrete learning activities focussing on developing research skillsPortfolio based approachAdvice on meeting each Assessment Standard

Unit Assessment Pack 12. Researching Historical Issues (continued)

Very similar demands in related Social Subjects, in this UnitPotential for cross-disciplinary learning of research skillsRenewed focus on the importance of developing the skills needed to complete courseworkAvoiding over-assessment – one piece of evidence may meet multiple Assessment StandardsDissertation will not provide sufficient evidence for Unit assessment

Workshop 1Unit Assessment

Using the materials provided, in small groups of 2-3, discuss: Identify subject-specific topics for discussion

Workshop Aims To understand the assessment and evidence requirements of

Unit Assessment To consider a range of ways of generating evidence for the

Unit Assessment Support provided

Using the materials provided, in small groups of 2-3, discuss:

Definitions of skills and descriptions of minimum competence Avoiding over-assessment (e.g. using one piece of evidence to

meet multiple Assessment Standards) Renewed focus on the Researching Unit – what will this mean

for your practice? 

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