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Moray Labour condemns exam results 'downgrade fiasco'


By Lorna Thompson

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MORAY Labour says hundreds of Moray families will be left devastated after the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) used a "deeply flawed" methodology to downgrade teachers’ exam grade estimates for pupils.

This year, as exams were cancelled for the first time in over 130 years due to Covid-19, pupils' results were worked out using estimates made by teachers based on performance over the school year.

It emerged yesterday as 138,000 pupils in Scotland opened their exam result envelopes that the SQA had adjusted around 133,000 entries from teachers' estimates. Some 6.9 per cent of these estimates were adjusted up – and 93.1 per cent were adjusted downwards.

The exams body "checked and validated" teachers' estimates, moderating them to "ensure consistency across schools and colleges", taking into account each school's history of attainment.

Moray Labour said the SQA’s method resulted in pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds being more than twice as likely to have had their mark revised downwards as their more affluent counterparts, and that this was done without any consideration of the merits of individual cases.

Moray’s former convener of education, Sandy Keith, condemned the decision to use the grading method and called on Scottish Education Secretary John Swinney to resign.

Mr Keith said: "As a former careers adviser, I know the impact that exam results can have on a young person’s future.

"Hundreds of families in Moray are doubtless devastated by this failure – many of them from Moray’s most disadvantaged areas.

"SNP ministers made a deliberate decision to entrench the poverty attainment gap when they should be focused on eradicating it. John Swinney has failed in his first duty as education secretary and should immediately resign."

Elgin South Councillor John Divers called on both parents and authorities to put their trust in teachers.

Moray Labour Councillor John Divers.
Moray Labour Councillor John Divers.

Mr Divers said: "Teachers are professional educators who know these young people best. Teachers are absolutely the best placed people to assess the abilities of their students – not a statistical model cooked up behind closed doors.

"I would urge all affected families to contact their teachers for help and guidance with the appeals process.

"I also urge the SQA to trust the professional judgement of those teachers and award these young people the grades they’ve rightfully earned."

Moray Labour is calling on the Scottish Government to publish a breakdown of marks adjustments by socio-economic group and by local authority area.

It also wants the SQA to conduct an urgent review of assessment methods in time for next year’s prelims.

Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray yesterday warned of a deluge of appeals from pupils.

The SQA said it had "delivered fairness to learners, through a consistent, evidence-based approach to awarding".

Advice on pupils' next steps is available from Skills Development Scotland on 0808 100 8000. The SQA candidate advice line is 0345 279 1000.

To share your exam story with the Northern Scot, please email newsdesk@northern-scot.co.uk.

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