Teachers ‘lack trust’ in SQA

TWO-THIRDS of Scotland’s teachers lack faith in the national exams watchdog, a damning report reveals.

The organisation should have ‘serious cause for concern’ about problems raised by educators, according to Holyrood’s education committee.

Committee convener James Dornan highlighted the ‘breakdown in trust’ between teachers and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) as he urged the body to improve its performance.

Anonymous evidence was taken from teachers during an inquiry into education bodies.

A survey suggested 67 per cent of 646 respondents lacked trust in the SQA.

The committee is now calling for urgent improvements to the design, delivery and marking of national qualifications, and in the SQA’s communication with teachers.

The report states: ‘SQA’s documentation is unclear, assessment standards are not well understood, there are too many changes, marking is inconsistent and there is a tendency towards box-ticking approaches.’

The committee has recommended that the SQA focus its efforts on eliminating ‘unacceptable’ errors from exams and ensure all invigilators get a living wage.

Mr Dornan, the Nationalist MSP for Glasgow Cathcart, said: ‘The evidence our committee received was nothing less than eye-opening about some of the problems faced by those working so hard on the front line of education.

‘The committee found it hard to understand how, in particular, the SQA has met the needs of Scotland’s learners having designed qualifications that have created a huge workload for teachers and led to a breakdown in trust and threats of industrial action.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Teachers’ views are vital to our understanding of how we can build a better education system. We will consider the committee’s report carefully.’

The SQA said: ‘We are committed to addressing the findings and are working to continue to improve communication.’ 0808 272 0808*