Scots teachers furious at the ‘lack of clarity’ over exams in 2021
TEACHERS in Scotland have hit out at the ‘lack of clarity’ over next year’s exams.
Children are due to return to class in just over two weeks after almost five months at home and many have already started work for their National 5 and Higher courses.
But teachers have warned there is still ‘considerable anxiety’ for pupils and staff over course content, timings and whether some exams will even go ahead next year.
The Scottish Government has stated its ‘expectation’ is that exams will go ahead normally next summer but a report for an influential advisory group admits there are ‘significant challenges to delivering assessment in 2021’.
With Ministers yet to confirm whether schools will return full-time on August 11 as planned, amid uncertainty over social distancing, there are questions over whether next year’s National 5 exams could be scrapped.
Last night, Scottish Tory education spokesman Jamie Greene said parents were ‘understandably worried about this confusion’, adding: ‘Like every other aspect of the SNP’s approach to reopening schools, the issue of curriculum and exams has been just as chaotic and hapless.’
A confidential paper discussed by the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 Education Recovery Group described options for next year which could include National 5 exams being scrapped in favour of continuous assessment.
Exams for Highers and Advanced Highers could be delayed until June to allow extra teaching time, or course content cut.
One teacher said: ‘Next year was discussed at the end of term and since then it’s been radio
silence. A lot of teachers are saying, why haven’t the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and the Scottish Government come out and given us precise guidance about next year when we’ve already started some courses.’
Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union, said: ‘The lack of clarity about how exams and assessment will be organised for the 2020/21 academic year is causing considerable anxiety and concern.’
The Educational Institute of Scotland union said clarity was ‘essential’, adding: ‘It is extremely important that teachers and pupils are properly informed of the planning for next year’s qualifications procedures so young people can prepare with confidence.’
The SQA said: ‘A full timetable of exams and coursework is planned at all levels in 2021.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Consideration will be given to slightly delaying the exam diet to provide more learning and teaching opportunities for senior phase candidates, in addition to any other flexibilities and contingencies which may need to be in place to accommodate public health advice.’
WHEN Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister in 2014, she declared that her political mission was the improvement of standards in Scotland’s classrooms.
Judge me, she urged voters, on my record on education. In order to underline this commitment, she moved John Swinney from his finance brief and put him in charge of schools.
The First Minister’s gamble has not paid off. Under the SNP Government, standards in literacy and numeracy are disturbingly poor. And if the ‘attainment gap’ between children from wealthy and poorer backgrounds has narrowed, it is because the highest achievers are doing less well, not because those who struggle are doing better.
Mr Swinney’s once-solid reputation as a Minister of competence lies in tatters, his inadequacies exposed.
Today The Mail on Sunday reveals grave concerns by teachers about an ongoing lack of clarity over the return to classrooms in a little over two weeks.
The Scottish Government has said it expects exams to go ahead next year but a report for an advisory group states that ‘significant challenges’ remain.
Of course, the pandemic has created problems in many areas of our lives but a mix of poor communication and failing leadership has only exacerbated those now bedevilling the education system. The later years in school, with exam results shaping the lives of pupils for many years, are already stressful enough without fresh layers of uncertainty.
Were it not the case that the Scottish Government is lacking in effective Ministers, we would suggest Ms Sturgeon find a new Education Secretary.
It seems pupils, parents and teachers will have to put up with the hapless Mr Swinney for a while longer. And that is a prospect we find far from reassuring.