1 Every three years, AAP surveys performance at three or four stages in a range of scientific knowledge and skills. The most recent AAP survey on science was in 2003 and surveyed pupils' performance at P3, P5, P7 and S2. Further information on the AAP survey is available on the website of the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED). SQA provides information on its website as well as annual reports from examiners on performance at Standard Grade and on awards of National Qualifications (NQ) in a number of science subjects.
2 PISA is an international survey of 15-year-old pupils' standards of literacy in reading, mathematics and science, particularly in relation to young people's capacity to use their knowledge and skills in order to meet real-life challenges. Forty-one countries participated in PISA 2003, including all 30 OECD countries. Further information about the PISA survey is available from the PISA website.
3 TIMSS is an international survey which measures trends in mathematics and science performance at P5 and S2. Surveys in science were carried out in 1995 and 2003. In 2003, twenty-five countries took part in the P5 study and 46 countries in the S2 study.
4 Courses are typically called programmes at the primary stages.
5 The National Guidelines 5-14: Environmental Studies were first published in 1993 and subsequently revised in 2000.
6 The Science Strategy for Scotland was published by the Scottish Executive in 2000 and included commitments to improve aspects of science education in schools.
7 A Curriculum for Excellence: Ministerial Response was published by the Scottish Executive in November 2004.