35 per cent... that’s all it takes for pupils to gain a qualification

JOHN Swinney has been accused of ‘dumbing down’ Scotland’s education system, with school pupils awarded qualifications despite getting only 35 per cent in their exams.

The Education Secretary has been under growing pressure due to the country’s falling attainment – but yesterday it was revealed that grade boundaries had been moved, making it easier for youngsters to get a National 5 qualification.

Last year, Mr Swinney announced that the lowest threshold for a D grade was being reduced from 45 per cent to 40 per cent to stop pupils leaving school without any qualifications.

But now the threshold has been moved again, with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) revealing that some pupils had been awarded a National 5 with as little as 35 per cent. The lowest threshold of 35 per cent was in physics and the SQA said the boundary to get a D had been cut in 24 other subjects including chemistry, music and biology.

In French, pupils required 43 per cent for a D compared to 52 per cent required last year.

Scottish Conservative education spokesman Liz Smith said: ‘Many parents will consider it as a dumbing down of the results. The implication is that standards are falling. It’s even more reason why we have to reform the system to get balance right. It seems too many pupils are being pushed into National 5.’

The SQA grade boundaries show a mark of 44 out of 125 was required for pupils to get a D grade in physics. In maths, youngsters needed only 39 per cent compared to 45.6 per cent last year. In English, the threshold dropped from 45 to 39 per cent.

The Scottish Government and SQA claimed that standards have not been slipping, but that the boundaries had been changed to mirror a rise in the difficulty of tests.

Yet Professor Lindsay Paterson at Edinburgh University has said that the rise in Higher exam passes is due to easier exams rather than improved teaching.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The extension of Grade D to a notional 4049 per cent was agreed in March 2017 by the Assessment and National Qualifications Group, which included teachers, head teachers, and other education experts.

‘The change has brought Grade D into line with the 10 per cent ranges for Grades B and C and is intended to ensure that young people who do not pass National 5 receive some credit for their achievement at the qualification level for which they were entered by the school.’