2. Understanding Standards Advanced Higher Chemistry
November 2016

3. Welcome Introducing the Advanced Higher Team Principal Assessor
Senior Team Leaders
Team Leaders

4. Aims of the Day
To support attendees in their understanding of national standards.
paper construction
national marking standards and quality control
grade boundaries
review of candidate evidence with respect to the Marking Instructions

5. Timetable for the day
Registration, Tea and Coffee 09:00 – 09:30
Welcome :30 – 09:35   
Morning Workshops 09:35 – 12:00
Lunch :00 – 12.45
Afternoon Workshops 12:45 – 15:15
Close :15

6. Understanding Standards
Question Paper

7. Activities for the Session
Paper construction and
grade boundaries 10 min
Calculations 45 min
Open-ended questions 45 min
Challenging points (2016) 45 min
Full papers

8. The Paper Construction Process
Writing team:
Principal Assessor and 3 writers
2 x paper checking meetings
Pre-review:
Principal Assessor, Writers, Qualification Manager/Qualification Officer and Reviewers
Paper Review:
Principal Assessor, Qualification Manager/Qualification Officer and Reviewers
Paper Validation:
Teacher and Lecturer
Final proof checked:
Principal Assessor

9. Marking and Quality Control Process
Standardisation:
Principal Assessor, Senior Team Leaders and Team Leaders
Marking:
Marker briefing, practice and qualification
Seeded papers and additional sampling
Marker Reports
Exceptional Circumstances
Marking Review

10. Setting Grade Boundaries
Marker Reports
The analysis grid for the paper
Statistics:
facility values; discrimination
Grade boundary meeting:
Senior SQA personnel
Did the assessment perform as predicted?

11. Understanding Standards
Question Paper
Workshop 1
Calculations

12. Units
Common mistakes:
KJ or kJ
Kelvin
Equilibrium constant - K
mol-1 or mol l-1
Rate constant - k

13. Significant Figures

14. Significant Figures
Fewest number of significant figures in data is 2.

15. Significant Figures
Answer in calculator:
Answer should be to 2 significant figures.
-130
However, 1 fewer is acceptable:
-100
and up to two more are also acceptable:
-128
-127.5

16. Understanding Standards
Question Paper
Workshop 2
Open-ended Questions

17. Marked holistically:
Good understanding 3 marks
Reasonable understanding 2 marks
Limited understanding 1 marks
No understanding 0 marks
A good understanding is not an excellent one.

18. Understanding Standards
Question Paper
Workshop 3
Points of Challenge

19. Q3(a)(i)
d-d splitting and paramagnetism

20. Q3(b)(ii)
d-d splitting and paramagnetism

21. Q3
d-d splitting and paramagnetism

22. Q7(b)(ii)
Rotation of plane polarised light
Racemic mixtures

23. Q7(b)(ii)
Rotation of plane polarised light
Racemic mixtures

24. Q7(c)
Reaction mechanisms
Curly arrows
Atom connectivity

25. Q9(b)(i)
Apparatus diagram

26. Q9(b)(i)
Apparatus diagram

27. Q9(b)(ii)
Solubility of products

28. Q9(b)(iii)
pH of salt solutions

29. Q9(b)(iv)
Choice of solvent in recrystallisation

30. Understanding Standards Full Papers and General Discussion
Question Paper
Full Papers and General Discussion