West Lothian councillor queries whether exams are cancelled in schools this year
Bathgate Conservative Charles Kennedy says some teenagers or parent have complained about the new assessment process
12:06, 6 MAY 2021
(Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
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There may be no exams in high schools this year but, according to one councillor, it doesn’t feel that way to some teenagers or parents.
“I know we are not calling them exams but pupils will treat each assessment as such.” Mr Bruce was speaking as the council was presented with a report on the Covid-19 response over the last year across all services. The SQA, Scotland’s exam body, cancelled its formal exams after Deputy First Minister John Swinney took the decision not to go ahead with them in December. The report told councillors: “Following the cancellation of SQA examinations for sessions 2022/21, all local authorities have been required to put in place an Alternative Certification Model that ensures that a range of evidence about pupil achievement is gathered prior to the awarding of final grades by the SQA.
TEACHERS will have to rely to an “unfortunately excessive extent” on “pseudo exams” to assess senior pupils in Scotland this year, according to an education expert. Lindsay Paterson, professor of education policy at the University of Edinburgh, said this was because the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) had cancelled most of the normally assessed course work this year, “a failure that has not been widely enough commented on”. The national exam diet was called off because of the coronavirus pandemic but concern is growing over Alternative Certification Model (ACM), with many pupils complaining the assessments scheduled for this term look like formal exams.
Insight: Is another exam crisis brewing in Scotland? scotsman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scotsman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Fears Scotland s exam system could descend into chaos for second year running
There is currently no uniform policy for assessing pupils’ grades and parents fear some pupils will suffer.
Many parents say it is a postcode lottery
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