Thousands of school pupils to have results upgraded after Scottish Government u-turn
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THOUSANDS of school pupils in Scotland are set to have their exam results upgraded after a u-turn from the Scottish Government.
Exam results were released last week, with 75,000 pupils seeing results downgraded by the SQA in comparison to the estimated grades they were given by their teacher.
Education Secretary John Swinney today announced that pupils whose results were downgraded would receive new grades solely based on teacher estimates.
Candidates whose grades were upgraded will retain their improved marks.
The national 5 pass rate will now be 88.9 per cent, up 10.7 per cent, the higher pass rate will be 89.2 per cent, up 14.4 per cent on last year, with the advanced higher set to rise to 93.1 per cent, up 13.7 per cent from 2019.
The SQA will inform schools of the revised results by Friday, August 21, and new certificates will be issued in due course.
Mr Swinney said the Scottish Government will ensure there are enough places in universities and colleges so that no pupil is crowded out of a place they would otherwise have been awarded.
Speaking today, he said: "These are exceptional times, and in exceptional times truly difficult decisions are made. In speaking directly to the young people affected by the downgrading of awards – the 75,000 pupils whose teacher estimates were higher than their final award – I want to say this: I am sorry.
“I have listened and the message is clear. They don’t just want an apology, they want to see this fixed and that is exactly what I will now do. To resolve this issue all downgraded awards will be withdrawn. I am directing the SQA to re-issue those awards based solely on teacher or lecturer judgement.
“We now accept that the risk of undermining the value of qualifications is outweighed by a concern that young people, particularly from working class backgrounds, may lose faith in education and form the view that no matter how hard you work, the system is against you. Education is the route out of poverty for young people in deprived communities and we cannot risk allowing that view to take hold.
Speaking at First Minister's questions, conservative list MSP for the highlights and islands Jamie Halcro-Johnston said the "sorry story" could have been avoided if the initial methodology had been scrutinised properly ahead of use.
Moray's SNP MSP Richard Lochhead welcomed the move. He said: "Many young people and adult learners across Moray will have been impacted by the SQA’s moderation and will have received downgraded awards.
“I know from feedback from families in Moray that many felt that some awards had been decided by a statistical model rather than by merit and I’ve no doubt that they will welcome the commitment to withdraw these downgraded awards and to reissue awards based on the teacher or lecturer judgement.
“I hope that learners in Moray are reassured that the Scottish Government has listened and those who were affected will now achieve the grades that teachers and lecturers judged they deserved."
