Pass rates in two-thirds of Highers’ subjects fall

NICOLA Sturgeon has been accused of ‘failing’ children after figures show pass rates for two-thirds of Higher subjects have fallen.

Attainment has plummeted in 32 of the 46 subjects in the past five years.

This follows the introduction of the SNP’s Curriculum for excellence (Cfe), with pass rates falling in key subjects such as english.

At First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw said: ‘How many more times do we have to listen to the same excuses about how education is your government’s number one priority, when the actual evidence shows your record is one of unmitigated continuing failure?

‘We are seeing a drop in 32 out of 46 Highers subjects and people are getting increasingly angry at the First Minister’s spin and denial of the failure of education under her government.’

He said the fall in pass rates had taken place following the introduction of ‘the SNP’s botched Cfe’ reforms in 2015.

Analysis of SQA data going back to 2015 found that pass rates for english, which was studied by more than 35,000 pupils last year, have fallen from 81 per cent to 73 per cent last year.

History, sat by nearly 10,000 youngsters, fell by 12 per cent to a pass rate of 73 per cent. But Miss Sturgeon argued that pass rates are still rising for ten of the most popular Higher subjects.

She said: ‘The ten top subjects, the ones that there are the highest number of entries for, the ones that most pupils do, the majority of them compared to 2015 have pass rates that have improved.’

These subjects include maths, physics, chemistry, biology, modern studies and geography, the First Minister added.

However, Professor Lindsay Paterson of edinburgh university said: ‘Such a consistent fall in pass rates across many Highers cannot be due to annual fluctuations or to schools letting more people sit the exam, nor to the temporary boost to attainment in the first year of the new Higher in 2015.

‘What we can certainly say from these figures is that the new curriculum is not making Scottish education any better, despite the claims of its supporters.’

Defending her government’s record on education, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘overall more young people leave school with Highers, two-thirds get at least one – that compares to less than half when we took office. Thirty per cent get five or more Highers, that compares to 22 per cent in 2009.

‘The overall picture, as is so often the case, is not the one that Jackson Carlaw wants to present.’