Perceptions of Standards in Scotland (PASS)

Public confidence in the qualification system is essential to maintain the currency of the certificates for the young people whose life chances depend upon them.  It is essential that relevant stakeholder groups are both well-informed and consulted.  How people view standards and what influences their trust in assessment systems are little-researched topics, but it is known that stakeholders’ views of standards go well beyond the standard setting system, to include issues regarding content standards, bias, reliability, validity and utility of qualifications.  Further, dips in public confidence occur following systemic crises and it takes a number of years to regain trust and confidence.  Understanding these concerns will help to improve public confidence in qualifications.

This research was conducted in collaboration with Professor Louise Hayward, Ernest Spencer, Carolyn Hutchinson and Lesley Wiseman-Orr University of Glasgow.  Thomas Godfrey-Faussett is a member of the research team at Oxford University.

and colleagues at the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

Podcast on standards as a social contract in qualifications featuring the research (15 mins) by Faculti.Net