Exam results marred by attainment gap growth
The moderation system used to arrive at this year’s exam results has entrenched the attainment gap, the Scottish Greens have said.
Initial results show that the pass rate fell and the attainment gap widened in the second year of the pandemic-hit qualifications system, whilst the proportion of A grades at Higher increased.
Responding, Scottish Greens education spokesperson Ross Greer said:
“Whatever result they received, Scotland’s young people should be congratulated for navigating their learning through the challenges of the pandemic and the bungling of the SQA. Their exams were cancelled, only to be replaced by pseudo-exams whose results they could not appeal even if they suffered from a death in the family or were personally ill during this period. There is still time though, just barely, to adopt a fair appeals system which would take these exceptional circumstances into account.
“Just like last year’s postcode-based moderation system before it was reversed, this year’s grades were adjusted against previous results at each school. It’s therefore not a surprise that the attainment gap has widened. After all, the restored grades from last year, when the attainment gap dramatically narrowed, were excluded from this moderation system. This intense suspicion of working class young people who achieve just as much as their middle class colleagues shames Scotland.
“The purpose of education is to enable every young person to reach their full potential, not to sort the world into haves and have-nots based on where they live. The SQA’s leadership have again failed to understand this basic idea.”