Scotland’s exam appeal system is ‘not fit for purpose’
● Campaigners say children are missing out despite Swinney’s U-turn
Pupils who disagree with their teacher’s estimates for their higher results could be missing out on university places due to the SQA’S appeal process being “unfit for purpose”, a leading children’s rights academic has said.
Dr Tracy Kirk is working alongside the youth-led campaign group SQA Where’s Our Say who have said the appeals system is stacked against some learners and will leave many without the grades they deserve.
Earlier in August, the Scottish Government performed an embarrassing U-turn after a week of protests and controversy around the algorithmic methodology for awarding grades to students this year in lieu of exam results.
SQ A Where’ s Our Say are now calling for the creation of a direct access to appeals for students who disagree with the grades given to them by teachers and who are unable to appeal as schools refuse to submit the appeals.
Dr Kirk, who is a children’s rights academic at Glasgow Caledonian University, told The Scots man the current appeals process also flies in the face of the Scottish Government’ s Getting It Right For Every Child framework.
She said :“At the moment they have restricted the appeals so much that the young people who do feel that their personal circumstances have led to them being disadvantaged are not being heard.
“That is contrary to what Ni cola Sturgeon promised and the Scottish Government has a good reputation when it comes to children’s rights and I think that is what makes this particularly hard to take.
“There’s not a child centred approach, if you don’t fit within the category of the appeals which are very narrow then you don’t have any recourse to get things done.
“We’ve ended up with individuals being used as numbers and the appeals system is not fit for purpose to help with that. We need this change really quite quickly so that young people who are impacted can ask for their appeal.”
Scottish Labour’ s Daniel Johnson MSP backed the call for direct appeals and said young people have had their “rights infringed”.
He said: “This is fundamentally unfair and will have a lasting impact on the rest of their lives.”
Education secretary John Swinney defended the appeals system. “The SQA put in place appeal routes which enable young people togo to their school where they believe their circumstances merit an appeal and schools can take for ward those appeals to the SQA,” he said