February 9 2010
Higher Homepage
Course Aims
The Course provides a broad-based integrated study of a wide range of biological topics which develop an understanding of biological principles relevant to the individual and society.
Course structure
The Course has three mandatory Units:
- Cell Biology
- Genetics and Adaptation
- Control and Regulation
Details of each Unit specification are available by clicking here.
Assessment
To gain the award for the Course, the candidate must achieve all the components of the Course as well as the external assessment.
The three outcomes assessed in each Unit are: Knowledge and Understanding, Problem Solving and Practical Abilities.
External Assessment
The external Course examination will sample across all of the Unit outcomes and achievement will be graded on the basis of cut-off scores.
The assessment of Knowledge and Understanding, Problem Solving and Practical Abilities will be based upon the Course content described for the three Units:
- Cell Biology (H)
- Genetics and Adaptation (H)
- Control and Regulation (H)
The content/contexts of these Units will be sampled equally in the Course examination which will include familiar contexts as well as contexts which are less familiar and more complex than in the Unit assessments. While there are no compulsory practicals for the purposes of external assessment, there will be questions set in the examination on practical work in contexts less familiar to candidates. The examination will consist of one paper of 2 hours 30 minutes with a total of 130 marks. The paper will consist of three sections:
Section A
This section will contain 30 multiple choice questions. Of these, between 9 and 11 questions will test Problem Solving and/or Practical Abilities, the remainder will test Knowledge and Understanding. Section A will have an allocation of 30 marks. Candidates will be expected to answer all the questions.
Section B
This section will contain structured questions and data handling questions with an allocation of 80 marks. Between 25 and 30 marks will test Problem Solving and/or Practical Abilities, the remainder will test Knowledge and Understanding. Candidates will be expected to answer all the questions.
Section C
This section will consist of four extended response questions to test the candidates’ ability to select, organise and present relevant knowledge. Section C will have an allocation of 20 marks and will include:
- two structured extended-response questions for 10 marks. Candidates will be expected to answer one of these questions. Marking schemes for these questions will be similar to current practice for essay questions.
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two open extended-response questions for 10 marks (1 mark for relevance, 1 mark for coherence and 8 marks for Knowledge and Understanding). Candidates will be expected to answer one of these questions.
SQA Documents
This link will open the Higher Conditions and Arrangements document in a new window.
The Principal Assessor Report is published each year, it contains useful information about the exam, e.g. areas of the exam which candidates struggled with. This link will open the current External Assessment Report in a new window.
