Project on Assessment in Scotland - using Information Technology

Project Activities

Project Activities

The project was in two phases with Phase 1 being carried out between August 2002 and October 2003. Phase 2 took place between November 2003 and December 2004. It had been proposed from the outset that one subject (Mathematics) would be investigated through all levels from Access to Advanced Higher. Other subjects would be studied mainly at the level of Higher. In all cases, internal unit assessments were to be considered to discover if the computer could aid the teaching professionals in their task of measuring the minimum competencies of their students at the end of each unit of their course. The so-called National Assessment Bank (NAB) delivers paper-based tests to assess basic skills in each subject. The challenge of PASS-IT was: could the computer aid teachers by helping to measure basic skills using ICT delivered tests?

Between August and October 2002 the following project activities took place:

During Phase 1 of the project the research team piloted ICT-based assessments in the following areas:

In addition, the project developed ICT-based assessment items for Advanced Higher Chemistry and for the revised HNC Computing paper-based Integrative Assessment.

Between November 2002 and January 2003 project staff, working with colleagues within the sector, undertook the following activities:

Between February and April 2003 staff worked to put in place processes to support the pilot centres and to develop a range of assessment materials in the various subject areas. Learning Technology staff collaborated with subject related teams, Qualifications Managers and Principal Assessors to design and create innovative assessments. The technical team refined elements of the delivery system and worked to ensure that a robust system was in place for the pilots.

Pilots began at the end of March 2003 and continued to early June 2003. There were seven participating schools, drawn from Aberdeen and Edinburgh, and three Further Education Colleges with two in Glasgow and one in Fife. Following the piloting phase a detailed statistical analysis of results was conducted. Further research and evaluation data was gathered at focus groups of staff and students drawn from the various centres which had participated in the pilots.

Between June and October 2003 project staff analysed the wealth of data which had been collected during Phase 1. At the end of October 2003 the interim research report and internal evaluation findings were made available via this website.

Planning for Phase 2 of the project began in November 2003. The subjects considered in Phase 2 were:

Moreover, following pressure at the 2003 teaching staff focus groups, it was decided to run an alternative evidence trial in Higher Mathematics NAB unit 2. In this particular trial, students in two Edinburgh schools took their internal NAB test online and the results counted towards an award.

New subjects were piloted in Phase 2. During November and December 2003 project staff reviewed the research aims of the project and, working with Qualifications Managers, Principal Assessors, examiners and other subject specialists, produced further assessments for piloting. The Centre Liaison Officer, working from SQA, encouraged new centres to join the project and prepared the centres for piloting through briefing visits and by revising and updating project documentation and guidance materials. Nineteen centres were employed in Phase 2 with schools from the Borders to the Highlands, and from the cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and Dundee. Again, the research data was analysed and a final report prepared. A summary of this report will be available under ‘Project Materials’.

Project Summary
A final report giving an overview of Pass-IT, indicating the scale of the project and including some observations and findings from the project.