Created on: 08 Nov 2018 | Last modified: 21 Apr 2023
This advice is relevant to Secondary members who are teachers, Faculty Heads and PTs of English, SQA Co-ordinators and Headteachers.
The EIS is in favour of assessment models within SQA qualifications which are not wholly dependent on final examinations. Assessment models based solely on exams are known to be disadvantageous to students from poorer socio-economic backgrounds and are not the best means by which to assess the skills and knowledge learned in all cases.
With regards to the Folio of Writing at N5 and Higher, the EIS is of the view that, in principle, this approach is in the interests of social justice, providing students from poorer backgrounds the opportunity to demonstrate their learning, in part, outwith a formal exam-based context; and offers stronger assessment validity in that a portfolio approach more closely mirrors the process intrinsic to the art of writing, as opposed to the on-demand nature of writing under timed exam conditions.
