§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans there are to introduce a more comprehensive system of moderation of the internal elements of examination under the auspices of the Scottish Vocational Education Council and the Scottish Examination Board; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 7 May 1993]: The Scottish Vocational Education Council and 494W the Scottish Examination Board both give a high priority to the quality of external and internal assessment, and to moderation of their awards. They have in place quality assurance and review procedures to ensure that acceptable standards are maintained.
The Howie committee included in its report proposals for a quality assurance system to underpin the validity of the new Scottish upper secondary awards which it has recommended. The proposals contained in the Howie committee's report and all the comments received upon these propopals are under consideration.
§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans there are to alter the continual assessment element of ScotVec qualifications; what representations he has had regarding the quality and acceptability of ScotVec modules; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[holding answer 7 May 1993]: ScotVec qualifications are evolved in consultation with all interested parties and an independent review conducted by the Scottish Council for Research in Education in 1991 reported that employers favoured the assessment techniques used in ScotVec national certificate modules.
The success of the Scottish wider access programme in enabling students to enter higher education is evidence of acceptance of ScotVec's assessment methods and quality assurance. The Scottish Universities Council on Entrance, along with other national bodies, has also recently recognised groupings of ScotVec modules for entrance to higher education.