What is the National Assessment Resource?
The National Assessment Resource - a major new development for Scottish education - is an online resource designed to support assessment approaches for Curriculum for Excellence
It was created by Learning and Teaching Scotland, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and the Scottish Government.
The National Assessment Resource (NAR) provides a single place in which assessment materials for Curriculum for Excellence can be stored. This includes assessment materials developed by SQA, LTS and practitioners. It includes examples of emerging practice which illustrate how practitioners are interpreting the standards and expectations set out in the Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes across curriculum areas, stages and qualifications.
One of the key functions of NAR is to provide a way for teachers and early years practitioners to develop a shared understanding of standards and expectations. NAR will support them in deepening their understanding and expertise in assessment. It will also help develop their capacity to make sound judgements about progress and achievement. Ultimately, as confidence and understanding grow, early years practitioners and teachers will have more ownership of NAR. They will become responsible for quality assurance to ensure the resources are fit for purpose, increasingly putting their own assessment resources into NAR.
This promotional video is a good introduction to NAR.
Download Adobe Flash Player to watch the video online.
NAR and the assessment framework
NAR is a key component of the Assessment framework (Building the Curriculum 5) published in January 2010.
One of the key purposes of NAR is to support practitioners in developing a shared understanding of standards and expectations for Curriculum for Excellence and how to apply these consistently.
NAR will initially support assessment for learners aged 3-15.
Alongside Glow and SQA Academy, NAR supports continuing professional development with opportunities to collaborate and discuss assessment approaches.
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