Qualifications Update:Higher Religious Moral and

Philosophical StudiesJane Henderson QDM

Qualifications Update:Higher Religious Moral and

Philosophical StudiesJane Henderson QDM

• Coherent progression from related National 5 subjects to Higher RMPS

• Relevant, challenging and enjoyable contexts • Opportunities for candidates to show the breadth

and depth of what they know• Opportunities for candidates to show the

application of their RMPS skills• Personalisation and choice for learners in the

Assignment

Key messagesKey messages

• Units combine skills and knowledge and offer flexibility in how evidence is gathered, to challenge and motivate learners

• Knowledge and understanding and the application of skills build progressively up levels in Unit and in Course assessment

• Maintains many of the best aspects of current Higher while offering fresh learning contexts that ensure the continuing quality and credibility of RMPS

Key messagesKey messages

• Use valid and reliable assessments- SQA-produced Unit Assessment Support Packs- Centre devised assessments that have been prior verified- Your own assessments – strongly advise you have these prior verified

• Making assessment judgements- SQA packs are designed on a pass/fail basis- Use Judging Evidence Tables to make assessment judgments against Assessment

Standards- Judging Evidence Tables have commentary on how to meet each Assessment Standard- A task/activity can meet most or all of the Unit Outcome and Assessment Standards- Indicate on candidate’s work that Unit Assessment Standards have been met

• Unit Assessment complementing learning and teaching- Unit Assessment is open and flexible- Assessment should allow you space to prepare for Added Value/Course Assessment

Key messages Key messages from Verification (Round 1)

Assessment Support Schedule 2013/14 Assessment Support Schedule 2013/14

Sept 13 CfE Update Letter

Oct 13 Unit Assessment Support (Package 1)

Feb 14 Unit Assessment Support (Package 2)

Feb 14 Higher Specimen Question Paper

Mar 14 Coursework General Assessment Information

Apr 14 Unit Assessment Support (Package 3)

May 14 Update Mandatory Documents

June 14 Update Unit Assessment Support

Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies

Unit AssessmentHigher

Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies

Unit AssessmentHigher

Unit assessmentUnit assessment• Supports assessment as part of learning and

teaching • Is flexible in the ways in which evidence can

be generated• Open in the context which is used and in the

form of the evidence

Unit Assessment Support Unit Assessment Support packages – purpose packages – purpose

• Assess your candidates

• Adapt in line with your own assessment strategy

• Help you develop your own assessments

Unit Assessment Support Unit Assessment Support Packages – key featuresPackages – key features

• All Unit Assessment Support Packs are based on the Unit Specification documents

• Tell you – with examples – how to judge evidence against Assessment Standards

• Provide further clarification of the Assessment Standards

• Encourage and support professional judgment• Include advice on adapting to different contexts • Valid from August 2014

Unit assessment support Unit assessment support packages - approachespackages - approaches

• Unit by Unit approach – discrete assessment tasks for each Unit

• Combined approach – groups Outcomes and Assessment Standards from different Units

• Portfolio approach – evidence generated as part of learning and teaching and matched against the Assessment Standards

Unit Assessment Support Pack 1: Contexts Unit Assessment Support Pack 1: Contexts packages: N3-Higherpackages: N3-HigherWorld Religion Morality and Belief Religious and Philosophical

Questions

You can use the illustrative examples provided and adapt these to suit the contexts that your learners have studied .

N3

Context: Islam Context: Religion and Justice

Context: Life after death

N4

Context: Judaism Context: Religion and Relationships

Context: Existence of God

N5

Context: Buddhism Context: Religion and Relationships

Context: The Problem of Evil and Suffering

H

Context: Christianity Context: Religion and Conflict

Context: Origins of Life

Higher Unit Assessment Support Higher Unit Assessment Support Packs 1,2 and 3: ContextsPacks 1,2 and 3: Contexts

World Religion Morality and Belief Religious and Philosophical Questions

Pack 1 Context: Christianity Context: Religion and Conflict

Context: Origins of Life

Pack 2 Context: Sikhism Context: Religion, Environment & Global Issues

Context: Miracles

Pack 3 Context: Islam Context: Religion, Medicine & the Human Body

Context: The Problem of Evil & Suffering

Document read-throughDocument read-through

• Overview of Assessment – Contains an outline of the example task

– Also includes advice on how to adapt the task

– Evidence in one form may be supplemented with evidence in other forms

Document read-throughDocument read-through

• Assessment Conditions– Level of teacher/lecturer support should be

appropriate but evidence must be the candidate's own work

– When group work is used, evidence of individual achievement is required

– Centres responsibility to ensure that all evidence is the individual candidate’s work

Document read-throughDocument read-through

• Assessment Conditions (continued)– Only apply restrictions which are required by the

Assessment Standards – SQA has left open time constraints - candidates

should have sufficient time to complete the task– SQA has left open the resources to which

candidates may have access in the assessment– Same conditions apply National 3 – Higher

Document read-throughDocument read-through

• Evidence to be gathered– A range of possible forms of evidence may be

appropriate– Keep accurate records of the candidate meeting

the Assessment Standards– Only need sufficient evidence to show

achievement of the Assessment Standards once

Document read-throughDocument read-through• Judging Evidence– Table tells you how to judge evidence against the

Assessment Standards– Illustrations of possible candidate responses– Approach used can change, Outcomes and

Assessment Standards do not change

Document read-throughDocument read-through

• Re-assessment arrangements – Assessment should be carried out when the

individual candidate is ready – If a candidate fails to provide evidence for all the

Assessment Standards, it is only necessary to re-assess the individual Assessment Standard that they have yet to achieve

Document read-throughDocument read-through

• Examples of recording documentation– Exemplar tables for recording candidate’s/group’s

achievement of Assessment Standards– These can be adapted as required

Document read-throughDocument read-through

• Assessment Task– Aligns with the prompts in the Overview of

Assessment section– Exemplifies one context in which Unit assessment

may take place

Workshop 1Workshop 1• Use the materials provided:• In groups of 2-3 discuss:– The assessment task(s) provided in the Unit

Assessment Support packs– How you might use/adapt the task(s)– How your candidates will generate evidence for

the assessment task(s) provided– How to make assessment judgements for the

assessment task(s) provided– What questions/suggestions do you have which

might support others?

Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies

Higher Course Assessment

Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies

Higher Course Assessment

Context and Rationale for development of Context and Rationale for development of Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical Higher Religious, Moral and Philosophical

StudiesStudies• Level of demand benchmarked against SCQF level 6 as

in current Higher• Progression and articulation from National 5 • CfE principles e.g. personalisation and choice,

importance of skills• Opportunity to refresh and update content and

contexts• Consistency with other Highers as appropriate• FIOCA provides further detail

Process of DevelopmentProcess of Development• Course Specification – Aims and rationale of the

Higher Religious, Studies Course• Unit Specifications – Skills developed across the

Units• Course Assessment Specification – Requirements

for Question Paper and Assignment – application of skills to mandatory content

Added ValueAdded Value• Makes the Course more than the sum of its parts• Builds on current Course assessment and Group

Award approaches • Defined as breadth, challenge and application as

outlined in Building the Curriculum 5• May involve accumulation, assimilation, integration

and/or application of skills, knowledge and understanding

• Uses one or two of 7 defined assessment methods

Adding Value: National 4,Adding Value: National 4,National 5 - HigherNational 5 - Higher

• For National 4, the Added value is assessed in the Added Value Unit – not graded.

• For National 5 and Higher (and Advanced Higher) the Added Value is assessed in the Course Assessment – graded A-D (as at present).

Higher – Course AssessmentHigher – Course Assessment• Two components:

– Question Paper: 60 marks – approx. 66% of total

– Assignment 30: marks – approx.33% of total• Skills and knowledge and understanding will have

equal importance across course assessment as a whole

• Both components will be externally marked

Question Paper OverviewQuestion Paper Overview• Three sections each worth 20 marks: World Religion, Morality and

Belief, Religious and Philosophical Questions

• No optional questions

• Mandatory content will be sampled

• Will assess the skills of analysing, evaluating and presenting reasoned and well-structured views

• Will draw on in-depth knowledge and understanding

• Greater emphasis on knowledge and understanding than skills

• In the SQP mark allocations range from 10 to 20

Question Paper SectionsQuestion Paper SectionsSection 1 – World Religion

•Two 10 mark questions

Section 2 – Morality and Belief

Section 3 – Religious and Philosophical Questions

There will be two patterns of questions used between sections 2 and 3. Each question paper will use both patterns but these will be applied to sections 2 or 3 in an unpredictable way.

Pattern 1•Each part in the section will have 2 mandatory questions.•Each question will be an extended response. Pattern 2•Each part in the section will have 1 mandatory question.•The question will require a single 20 mark extended response.

Question Paper command wordsQuestion Paper command wordsA limited range of command words/question stems will be used in the paper such as, for example:

•Analyse / In what ways / Compare…

•Evaluate / How valid…

•To what extent / Discuss…

Greater clarity and support for centres in general marking principles and detailed marking instructions as to how these questions will be marked

Skills defined identically in Unit and Course Assessment

Question Paper command wordsQuestion Paper command words“Analyse” questions require candidates to…

Identify parts, the relationship between them, and their relationships with the whole. Draw out and relate implications.

“Evaluate” questions require candidates to…

Make a judgement based on criteria.

SQA Guidance

Question Paper question typesQuestion Paper question types20 mark questions will require candidates to…

Apply KU, analyse and evaluate in order to present a reasoned and well-structured view

May use, for example: To what extent is a claim justified? / Discuss and present a reasoned view on…

Will assess in-depth knowledge and understanding of mandatory Course content

Controlled AssessmentControlled Assessment• Where the assessment method is not a question paper,

SQA has introduced the concept of controlled assessment to ensure fairness and reliability

• Three stages of assessment: Setting, Conducting, Marking the assessment

• Each will have a defined level of control: SQA-led activity, Shared responsibility between SQA and centres, Centre-led

• Subject-specific decisions, but mostly SQA-led activity in initial years

Higher – AssignmentHigher – Assignment• Opportunity for learner personalisation and choice

• Candidates will have an open choice of religious, moral or philosophical question or Issue

• Marked out of 30

• Externally marked

• Evidence produced in controlled conditions in up to one hour and 30 minutes

• Draws on research

Higher – AssignmentHigher – Assignment• Greater emphasis on skills than knowledge and

understanding

• SQA will provide General Assessment Information and the Assessment Task

• Task does not change from year to year

• Detailed marking instructions available and can be shared with candidates

• Guide to candidates will be provided, as at National 5

Workshop 2Workshop 2Use the materials provided:•read the FIOCA (10 mins)In groups of 2-3 discuss:•the relationship between assessment at Unit level and Course level (10 minutes)• aspects of your current practice which you plan to

continue (15 minutes)• aspects of your current practice which you plan to

change (15 minutes)•what will you take back to your centre to support others?