SQA results: Exams boss told to quit as pass rate for poorest pupils in Scotland drops - Daily Record

The boss of Scotland's embattled exams authority has been called on to quit after the pass rate for the poorest pupils dropped.

SQA chief executive Fiona Robertson has twice previously failed to apologise for the debacle that saw 125,000 Scots downgraded last year after a botched algorithm was used to calculate grades.

Teacher assessments have been used for the 2021 results which show the pass rate for pupils sitting Higher, Advanced Higher and National 5 exams this year has dropped compared to 2020.

The Scottish Conservatives said that when comparing the results from 2020 to 2021, pupils from the most deprived areas – SIMD Q1 – were twice as likely to see their grades drop at Higher and Advanced Higher than young people from the most affluent - SIMD Q5 - backgrounds.

At Higher, the pass rate for SIMD Q1 pupils fell by 2.5 per cent year-on-year, compared to just a 1.1 per cent fall for SIMD Q5 pupils.

Tory education spokesman Oliver Mundell said: “Congratulations to Scotland’s school pupils who deserve a huge amount of praise for battling through another incredibly difficult year.

“Despite the disruption they faced, the SNP’s system has judged them more harshly than last year’s pupils, as we warned was the case.

“Compared to last year, grades are down across the board. The attainment gap is up. That should set alarm bells ringing that this year’s system is just as flawed and unfair as the shambles pupils suffered last year.

“But most damning of all, pupils from poorer backgrounds have been marked down the most from 2020 to 2021. They are twice as likely to see their grades fall at Higher and Advanced Higher than children from the most affluent areas, year-on-year.

“That is nothing short of a disgrace. It is apparent that once again, young people have been judged because of where they come from and where they go to school.

“The harsh reality is that pupils struggling the most - young people from poorer backgrounds who are just trying to pass their exams, never mind get an A grade - have been hit the hardest. How is that fair?

“The SNP should apologise for creating this shambolic, deeply unjust system that is marred by more of the same mistakes.

“They have misled and failed pupils on multiple fronts. The SNP promised no repeat of last year’s chaos where pupils were judged on their background, they promised no exams, and they promised that teachers judgement ‘alone’ would determine grades. Those promises have been broken."

Scottish politics

Lib Dem MSP Beatrice Wishart said: "Pupils were forced into exams in all but name, sitting as many as 16 assessments in a week, crammed in with little notice.

"The SQA shifted workloads onto teachers and gave them precious little leeway to recognise that some of their students had missed months of education due to repeated stints in isolation or disruption at home.

“The fact that the gap between the richest and the poorest has increased again make a mockery of SNP promises to close the attainment gap. The blame for this sits firmly with the government and its education quangos.

“After years of putting their fingers in their ears the Scottish Government eventually conceded that the SQA isn't fit for purpose, but only after Parliament backed the Scottish Liberal Democrats in a vote that piled pressure on ministers.

"With this years' process drawing to a close, and still repeatedly refusing to apologise for last year's debacle, Fiona Robertson should step aside and allow that reform to take place.”

Despite the drop in the attainment rate, education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville described the results as “strong”, adding they had been “achieved under extraordinary circumstances”.

The SNP minister said: “It’s been one of the toughest academic years we’ve ever known, with the pandemic throwing significant challenges at our young people.

"So to have this many learners receiving certificates and for the number of passes at Higher and Advanced Higher to be so high is incredible."

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2021-08-10 10:58:27Z
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