PAGES 8&9 NUMBER OF HIGHER PASSES DOWN AGAIN
Number of Higher passes is down again.. with education budget cuts getting blame
THE number of Highers passed by Scotland’s kids has fallen again – and Labour and the Tories blame SNP cuts.
A total of 150,010 passes were awarded to pupils on “results day” yesterday, down from 152,701 last year.
The percentage of passes also fell, from 77.2per cent to 77per cent. And while small, the decrease continues a pattern of decline since the new Highers were introduced.
The pass rate in their first year – 2015 – was 79.2per cent.
The success rate in Advanced Highers has also fallen, from 81.7per cent in their first year to 80per cent this year. The exams are vital to kids who need an extra boost to get to university.
National 5 pass rates have improved in the past year – but only by 0.1per cent to 79.5.
The percentage has fallen overall by 1.6per cent since the exams were introduced in 2014.
There was also a steep drop this year in the number of youngsters being put forward for National 4 Awards, qualifications assessed internally by schools.
There were almost 7000 fewer entries, with the total falling from 122,961 last year to 116,032 in 2017.
Tory education spokeswoman Liz Smith said yesterday’s figures contained a number of “clear warning signs” which called for urgent action by the SNP Government.
She said: “In some key core subjects, including history and some modern languages, there is a marked drop in the number of entries.
“And in many subjects we also see attainment falling, particularly at Advanced Higher level.
“The fundamental problems remain the same. We have too few teachers in classrooms.”
Labour’s education spokesman Iain Gray praised teachers’ hard work.
But he claimed SNP cuts under Education Secretary John Swinney were to blame for the worsening pass rates.
Gray said: “The reality is that these results have been achieved by pupils and teachers in spite of SNP Government cuts to education budgets, teacher numbers and support staff.
“Meanwhile, John Swinney presses ahead with his plans to centralise the running of Scottish schools and strip powers from councils. They will do nothing to improve on these results.
“The detail of today’s results should also sound a warning about falls in pupils studying key
subjects. A narrow curriculum is not in the interests of Scotland’s pupils but we continue to see subjects drop in terms of the number of pupils sitting them.
“Modern languages for example, have seen a six per cent fall this year.”
Swinney shrugged off the falling pass rates. He said “small variations” were to be expected, and highlighted the fact that the number of Higher passes had exceeded 150,000 for the third year in a row.
Speaking on a visit to Bannerman High School in Glasgow, the minister said: “The whole country should rightly be proud of the excellence and achievement in Scottish education demonstrated by these results.
“We expect to see small variations in pass rates year-on-year, which demonstrate the high standards, strength and integrity of our national qualifications.
“This is of paramount importance.”
The head of exams awarding body the Scottish Qualifications Authority rejected concerns about a downward spiral in pass rates and said the results were evidence of a “very stable system”.
Dr Janet Brown insisted: “I think what we see is a natural variability in line with what we have seen over the past 10 years.
“The numbers this year are broadly comparable.”
Pupils who have had their results and need advice on what to do next can call a free nationwide help line on 0808 100 8000.