History Higher

Vale of Leven Academy

The course consists of three areas of study: British, European and world, and Scottish history. There is considerable flexibility in the contexts and themes which can be studied to allow for personalisation and choice.

Skills, knowledge and understanding

Skills, knowledge and understanding for the course

The following provides a broad overview of the subject skills, knowledge and understanding developed in the course:

 developing and applying skills, knowledge and understanding across contexts from British, European and world, and Scottish history

 evaluating the origin, purpose, content and context of historical sources

 evaluating the impact of historical developments and synthesising information in a well-structured manner

 evaluating the factors contributing towards historical developments, and drawing well-reasoned conclusions supported by evidence

 researching and analysing historical information

 developing a detailed and accurate knowledge and understanding of complex historical issues in British, European and world, and Scottish contexts

Skills, knowledge and understanding for the course assessment

The following provides details of skills, knowledge and understanding sampled in the course assessment:

Question papers

The British, European and world history question paper has two sections covering a range of topics in British and European and world history. Candidates answer one part from each section. The Scottish history question paper has one section covering a range of topics in Scottish history.

Question paper 1: British, European and world history 44 marks

This question paper has a total mark allocation of 44 marks. This is 40% of the overall marks for the course assessment.

This question paper allows candidates to demonstrate the following skills, knowledge and understanding from across the course:

 developing and applying knowledge and understanding and skills across contexts from British and European and world history

 explaining the impact of historical developments, analysing the factors contributing towards historical developments, drawing well-reasoned conclusions and synthesising information in a well-structured manner

 demonstrating a detailed and accurate knowledge and understanding of complex historical issues in British and European and world contexts

This question paper has two sections:

Section 1: British

Section 2: European and world

Each section is worth 22 marks. Candidates draw on the skills, knowledge and understanding acquired during the course.

Each section consists of extended-response questions. Candidates explain the impact of historical developments, analyse the factors contributing towards historical developments, draw well-reasoned conclusions, and synthesise information in a well-structured manner.

Setting, conducting and marking the question paper

This question paper is set and marked by SQA, and conducted in centres under conditions specified for external examinations by SQA.

Candidates have 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete this question paper.

Question paper 2: Scottish history 36 marks

This question paper has a total mark allocation of 36 marks. This is 33% of the overall marks for the course assessment.

This question paper enables candidates to demonstrate the following skills, knowledge and understanding:

 developing and applying skills, knowledge and understanding across contexts from Scottish history

 evaluating the origin, purpose, content and context of a range of historical sources

 demonstrating a detailed and accurate knowledge and understanding of complex historical issues in Scottish contexts

This question paper has one section:

Section 1: Scottish

This section consists of restricted-response and extended-response questions. Candidates draw on and apply the skills, knowledge and understanding they have gained during the course.

Candidates evaluate the usefulness of a source, place a source in its historical context, identify and explain the differing viewpoints presented by two sources, and explain an event or development.

Setting, conducting and marking the question paper

This question paper is set and marked by SQA, and conducted in centres under conditions specified for external examinations by SQA.

Candidates have 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete this question paper.

Assignment 30 marks

The assignment has a total mark allocation of 30 marks. This is 27% of the overall marks for the course assessment.

The assignment gives candidates an opportunity to demonstrate the following skills, knowledge and understanding within the context of a historical question:

 identifying a historical issue which invites debate and argument

 researching and investigating the historical issue, using a range of sources of information

 drawing on and applying knowledge and understanding to analyse the causes and/or impact of the historical issue

 analysing, evaluating and synthesising information in a structured manner

 referring to relevant historical sources

 identifying different perspectives and/or points of view

 structuring information and presenting a well-reasoned conclusion supported by evidence

Setting, conducting and marking the assignment

The assignment is set by centres within SQA guidelines. SQA provides a brief for the production of evidence to be assessed. Candidates have an open choice of historical topic, question or issue to research. Evidence is submitted to SQA for external marking. All marking is quality assured by SQA.

Assessment conditions

The assignment has two stages:

 research

 production of evidence

Candidates should undertake the research stage at any appropriate point in the course, normally when they have developed the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding.

In the research stage, candidates choose a topic, question or issue which allows them to analyse and evaluate a historical issue. They research the issue, and organise their findings to address the topic, using the History resource sheet to collate their evidence and references.

Time

The research stage is designed to be completed over a notional period of 8 hours.

Candidates have 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete the production of evidence for assessment. This must be done in one sitting. Candidates complete the production of evidence stage in time to meet the submission date set by SQA.

Supervision, control and authentication

The research stage is conducted under some supervision and control. This means that, although candidates may complete part of the work outwith the learning and teaching setting, teachers and lecturers must put in place processes to monitor progress and ensure that the work is the candidate’s own, and that plagiarism has not taken place. For example:

 interim progress meetings with candidates

 questioning

 candidate’s record of activity/progress

 teacher or lecturer observation

Group work approaches are acceptable as part of the research stage. However, there must be clear evidence for each candidate to show that they have met the evidence requirements.

The production of evidence stage is conducted under a high degree of supervision and control. This means that candidates must:

 be in direct sight of the teacher or lecturer or other responsible person during the period of the assessment

 not communicate with each other

 have access only to the History resource sheet they have prepared

Resources

During the research stage, there are no restrictions on the resources to which candidates may have access.

During the production of evidence stage, candidates have access only to the History resource sheet they have prepared. The purpose of the History resource sheet is to help candidates use their evidence and references, collected during the research stage, to address their chosen topic, question or issue. Resource sheets are not assessed but must be submitted to SQA with candidates’ assignments.

Reasonable assistance

Teachers and lecturers may provide reasonable guidance on topics and the types of question or issue which enable candidates to meet all the requirements of the assignment. They may also guide candidates on the likely availability and accessibility of resources for their chosen question or issue.

Candidates must work on their research with minimum support from teachers or lecturers.

Teachers and lecturers must exercise their professional responsibility to ensure that evidence submitted by a candidate is the candidate’s own work.

Candidates must complete the production of evidence independently. However, reasonable assistance may be provided prior to the production of evidence taking place. The term ‘reasonable assistance’ is used to try to balance the need for support with the need to avoid giving too much assistance. If candidates require more than what is thought to be ‘reasonable assistance’, they may not be ready for assessment, or they may have been entered for the wrong level of qualification.

Reasonable assistance may be given on a generic basis to a class or group of candidates, for example, advice on how to develop an assignment plan. It may also be given to candidates on an individual basis. When reasonable assistance is given on a one-to-one basis in the context of something that a candidate has already produced or demonstrated, there is a danger that it becomes support for assessment, and teachers and lecturers need to be aware that this may be going beyond reasonable assistance.

In the research stage, reasonable assistance may include:

 directing candidates to the instructions for candidates

 clarifying instructions/requirements of the task

 advising candidates on the choice of a topic/question/issue

 advising candidates on possible sources of information

 arranging visits to enable gathering of evidence

 interim progress checks

In preparing for the production of evidence stage, reasonable assistance may include advising candidates of the nature and volume of specified resources which may be used to support the production of evidence.

At any stage, reasonable assistance does not include:

 providing the topic, question or issue

 directing candidates to specific resources to be used

 providing model answers or writing frames specific to the task (such as outlines, paragraph headings or section headings)

 providing detailed feedback on drafts, including marking

Evidence to be gathered

The following evidence is required for this assignment:

 completed assignment evidence

 History resource sheet: this must be a single side of A4 paper and must contain no more than 250 words

If a candidate does not submit a resource sheet, a penalty of 6 marks out of the total 30 marks is applied.