Introducing Unit Specifications and
Unit Assessment Support Packs
National 3, 4 and 5
“At times our own light goes out and
is rekindled by a spark from another
person.”
Unit Assessment
 Assessments can be designed to provide evidence
across more than one Unit or Outcome – combined
assessments
 Flexible and open Evidence Requirements in Units
 Greater range of techniques and methodologies for
assessment – encouraged through Unit assessment
support packages
 More opportunities to gather naturally occurring
evidence – assessment as part of learning and
teaching
Unit Structure
Key points: RMPS Units
 standards remain the same
 feature the best approaches of the current RS/RMPS
Units
 have a hierarchical Unit structure that provide
progression from National 3 to Higher
 give a possible structure for core RME/RE
 are less prescriptive and offer more choice
 have an added value assessment that increases
personalisation and choice in RMPS at National 4
Unit Specifications
UNIT
Outcome 2
Morality and Belief (N5)
Judging the
Evidence
Express detailed and reasoned views about
religious and non-religious responses to
contemporary moral questions by:
2.1 Explaining one possible consequence of a
religious and non-religious response to a
contemporary moral question, in detail and with
reference to relevant theoretical or abstract
ideas
2.2 Explaining a possible strength and a possible
Assessment weakness of a religious and a non-religious
Standards response to a contemporary moral question, in
detail and with reference to relevant theoretical or
abstract ideas
2.3 Expressing a detailed and reasoned
viewpoint on the question and responses, with
reference to supporting evidence and contrasting
viewpoints
At least one made
clear…for
example… should
be… will include…
need not be…
At least one made
clear…for
example… should
be… will include…
need not be…
At least three
points…supported
by…reference to…
Unit Specifications
Evidence Requirements for this Unit:
 Assessors should use their professional judgement,
subject knowledge and experience, and understanding
of their learners, to determine the most appropriate
ways to generate evidence and the conditions and
contexts in which they are used.
 While there are advantages to using a combined
approach to assessment, including a possible reduction
in the number of assessments required to be
undertaken, a combined assessment may present a
barrier for some candidates and may not be the most
appropriate approach to assessment in all cases.
Unit Specifications
For this Unit candidates are required to produce a visual
piece of evidence about an aspect of world religion which:




Explains the meaning of a source
Explains one relevant belief related to the source
Explains one practice related to the source
(World Religion Unit N5 adapted)
Unit Assessment Support
Packages - purpose
UASPs can be used to:
• Assess your candidates
• Adapt for your own assessment programmes
• Help you develop your own assessments
UASPs – key features
 Valid from August 2013
 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
 Give information on the type of evidence which
could be gathered and how this is to be judged
against Assessment Standards
RMPS UASPs
Package 1
 Unit by Unit approach N3 and N4 – discrete
assessment tasks for each Unit and combining of
skills within Units N5
Package 2
 Combined across Units N3 and N4 and Unit by Unit
approach N5
Package 3
 Unit by Unit approach N3 and N4 and Combined
across Units N5
National 4 Added Value Unit
 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
 Controlled assessment –setting conducting and
marking
N4 AV Unit: RMPS Assignment
 Focus on challenge and application
 Unit Specification and Unit Assessment Support
package
 Assesses skills such as research, using
information
 Internally marked pass or fail
N5 Internal Assessment of
Course Components
 Controlled assessment is SQA’s approach to
developing assessments (setting), the conditions
of assessment (conducting), and marking
assessments (marking).
 SQA is introducing controlled assessment for
non-question paper components of the Added
Value Unit and new National Courses at
National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher.
N5 RMPS Assignment
Controlled assessment
This assignment :
is set by centres within SQA guidelines
is conducted under some supervision and control
produces evidence which will be internally marked
by centre staff in line with SQA marking instructions.
will be quality assured by SQA.
and
the SQA will provide a brief for the generation of
evidence to be assessed
Moving on
 Workshop 1 and 2 will give you the opportunity
to look at the Unit Specifications and Unit
Assessment Support Packages in detail.