The National Record of Achievement: implications for higher education

Summary

The National Record of Achievement (NRA) has rapidly become a standard possession of school‐leavers within the UK. This study aims to discover the attitudes and opinions of these students both to the process of recording achievement whilst at school and the usefulness of the summative document, particularly in application to higher education. It also aims to determine students’ expectations about how higher education will build on and further develop their records of achievement, and to identify any plans students may have to update the document. Questionnaire surveys were undertaken at the University of Glamorgan; University of Wales, Aberystwyth; University of Wales Institute, Cardiff; and Swansea Institute of Higher Education. The paper identifies an overall positive response to recording achievement in school, but only a limited use of the document whilst planning for and applying to higher education. Students were generally keen to update their records of achievement (RoAs) at college or university, and were most likely to use them in the future when applying for jobs or further courses. Implications for further research are highlighted and a number of action points for schools and higher education are outlined. An example of one way in which higher education may build on the NRA started at school is offered.

Keywords:

• National Record of Achievement (NRA)
• recording achievement (ROA)
• undergraduate survey