Course reports
It is always interesting to read the course reports from the SQA website. These documents are designed to:
- acknowledge where candidates gained the most marks from the exam.
- address areas where candidates did not gain the most marks from the exam.
This is useful for both candidates and teachers as it ensures that the areas in which candidates did not gain most marks for the exam are addressed. For example, from the 2018 paper candidates struggled with:
- describing the whole sequence of mitosis.
- describing the way DNA strands are linked together.
- identifying the relationship between the two given factors.
- identifying a degradation reaction from the diagrams supporting the question.
Grading
Grading a candidate’s overall grade is determined by their performance across the course assessment. The course assessment is graded A–D on the basis of the total mark for all course assessment components.
Grade description for C: For the award of grade C, candidates will typically have demonstrated successful performance in relation to the skills, knowledge and understanding for the course.
Grade description for A: For the award of grade A, candidates will typically have demonstrated a consistently high level of performance in relation to the skills, knowledge and understanding for the course.
