The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
U-turn on exams results farce likely
FIFE: System used to calculate pupil grades branded ‘bonkers’
Education Secretary John Swinney is poised to make a dramatic U-turn on the exam results fiasco in a bid to save his political career.
Facing mounting pressure to resign, Mr Swinney is to lay out a series of steps tomorrow designed to address the “anger” of pupils in the poorest areas who have seen their marks driven down compared to the most affluent.
The Scottish Government has faced a backlash after it emerged grades predicted by teachers had been moderated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority using the past performance of schools.
But Mr Swinney said yesterday: “Every student deserves a grade that reflects the work they have done, and that is what I want to achieve.”
Despite that assurance, Fife Labour MSP Alex Rowley branded the system used to calculate results as “bonkers” and a “complete shambles”.
Embattled Education Secretary John Swinney will this week perform a major U-turn in a desperate bid to sort out Scotland’s exams fiasco.
Mr Swinney is set to announce changes to the grades appeals process as he fights for his political life and attempts to reassure angry pupils they will get the results they deserve.
As the clamour for his resignation grew, Mr Swinney issued a statement, promising to “act quickly” to sort out the mess.
The education secretary said he had “heard the anger of students who feel their hard work has been taken away from them” and was “determined” to address it.
“These are unprecedented times and as we have said throughout this pandemic, we will not get everything right first time,” Mr Swinney said.
“Every student deserves a grade that reflects the work they have done and that is what I want to achieve.
“I have been engaged in detailed discussions over the way forward and I know that we need to act and act quickly to give certainty to our young people.”
Mr Swinney will spell out how he intends to alter the system in a statement to Holyrood tomorrow, as his political opponents prepare to table a vote of no confidence in him.
A senior government source admitted they had got the handling of the exam results wrong but insisted “we will fix this”.
It is understood officials are examining ways to automatically review the results of downgraded pupils without each having to lodge an individual appeal which can be stressful and time consuming.
The insider said: “We wanted to ensure the results were just as credible this year as they have been in previous years.
“So while we were acting for the right reasons we have ended up in the wrong place. We will fix this and John Swinney will set out how we will fix it on Tuesday.”
Until now, Mr Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon have insisted that the existing appeals system, whereby pupils make individual claims when they feel aggrieved with their results, would rectify injustices.
More than 120,000 pupils had their results downgraded.
The cancellation of this year’s exams as a result of the coronavirus led to pupils being graded by teachers – results which were then moderated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
The moderation process resulted in 124,564 pupils having their results downgraded by the SQA, the equivalent of 26.2% of all grades.
The methodology used to re-calibrate grades included the past performances of schools – leading to claims that poorer pupils were being disadvantaged and discriminated against.
Concerns within the SNP over the handling of the situation were expressed by the former cabinet minister Alex Neil, who described the decision to downgrade poorer children’s results as “unforgivable”.
Mr Neil, the SNP MSP for Airdrie and Shotts, said the SQA’s credibility had been damaged and called for the downgraded results to be overturned.
“It must reverse the decision it made about exam results that saw the poorest children in many of the most deprived areas downgraded on the altar of a manufactured algorithm prepared in secret,” Mr Neil said.
Mr Swinney will act as children get ready to go back to school this week for the first time since classrooms were shut at the outset of the coronavirus outbreak.
His statement will mark his second about-turn on education during the coronavirus crisis.
Earlier, an outcry from parents resulted in Mr Swinney abandoning his plans for a blended learning model instead of sending children back to school full-time.
Plans for a vote of no confidence in the education secretary have been proposed by the Labour Party this week and are backed by the Scottish Conservatives.
Whether Mr Swinney survives will depend on the stance of the Lib Dems and the Greens.
Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: “It’s taken John Swinney five days to even admit this fiasco is his responsibility.
“The threat of a no confidence motion has seen him finally accept the fact that he got this badly wrong. He needs to go.”
New Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said Ms Sturgeon should sack Mr Swinney.
“If pupils have earned their grades in an exam, then they should receive those grades this year, considering the exceptional circumstances of the past six months,” he said.
“We’ve all got to be prepared to put country before party, as I have in the past, and Nicola Sturgeon must do that now and remove Mr Swinney.”
Angus Council children and learning convener Derek Wann has asked for a report to be brought to councillors on the local situation.
“Many students and parents have been in touch, concerned that their results were downgraded due to their location of school,” he said.
“This is something I have asked our director of education to bring back a report to council on.”
“The threat ofano confidence motion has seen him finally accept the fact that he got this badly wrong. IAIN GRAY, LABOUR EDUCATION SPOKESMAN