This afternoon Cabinet Secretary for Education John Swinney MSP made a statement to the Scottish Parliament about the arrangements for SQA Assessments in 2020-2021. It comes after the SQA exam diet for 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19 with teacher’s predictions and evidence from previous work being used to determine pupil’s grades.
A review into the SQA exams 2020 has been carried out by Professor Mark Priestley of Stirling University. Views have also been sought from teachers, lecturers, parents, pupils and other experts. Professor Priestley’s report outlined several recommendations which have been taken forward.
Mr Swinney has confirmed that National 5 exams will not go ahead and pupil’s grades will be calculated based on teacher judgements and evidence from coursework. For each subject, 2-4 pieces of work will be selected and submitted to the SQA as evidence. Subject specific guidance will be provided to teachers and pupils about what sort of evidence should be submitted as evidence.
Higher and Advanced Higher exams will still go ahead however the exam diet will begin slightly later with a start date of 13th May 2021. This is to allow exams that help determine young people’s future such as employment or admission to further/higher education to proceed. There will be social distancing in place in exam halls and extensive cleaning will take place in centres. Results day will remain 5th August 2021.
A new moderation system for estimated grades will be created to ensure equal standards across Scotland. This will involve regular communication with schools and colleges and the SQA reviewing samples of work from all schools across Scotland and appropriate feedback offered.
Mr Swinney also confirmed that pupil’s grades will not be adjusted based on the past performance of a school or local authority. Instead, grades will be calculated solely on the performance of the individual pupil, their coursework and their teacher’s judgements.
Here are some of the key point’s from Mr Swinney’s statement:
- National 5 awards will be assessed based on teacher judgements and evidence from assessments taken during the year
- Grades will not be adjusted based on statistics or school’s past performance and instead will be based solely on pupil’s individual performance
- Higher and Advanced Higher exams will still take place however with several adaptations including social distancing and enhanced cleaning. These exams will also take place slightly later in the year with the exam diet beginning on 13th May 2021
- A new moderation system will be created by the SQA and Education Scotland
You can read Mr Swinney’s full statement on the Scottish Parliament website.
