A LOSS of confidence in Scotland’s exam body is as bad as it was in 2000 when more than 10,000 pupils got the wrong results, teachers have said.
The warning comes in a letter to the Scottish Parliament from modern studies teachers demanding an inquiry into the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
The Modern Studies Association has written to Holyrood’s education committee complaining about the way the Higher paper is being set and demanding immediate changes.
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James Cook, the association’s chair, told MSPs the organisation felt it could no longer keep quiet over concerns about the maintenance of standards.
The intervention comes amidst repeated criticism of the way the SQA has handled changes to exams as part of the roll-out of Curriculum for Excellence.
Following a pupil petition on Higher mathematics in 2015 SQA chief executive Janet Brown admitted it had been too difficult.
Then in June last year it emerged a computing studies National 5 exam was riddled with mistakes, including coding errors.
Following the revelations, John Swinney, the Education Secretary, accused the SQA of failing at its “core purpose”.
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Five months later the Scottish Association of Geography Teachers said the most recent Higher paper was the worst ever set.
The last time the SQA was under such intense scrutiny was in 2000 when the entire board was sacked after some 10,000 students were sent incorrect results.
The Modern Studies Association said it had been asked by Mr Swinney to work on improvements with the SQA, but said it had found the process “fruitless in terms of meaningful changes”.
Mr Cook said: “It is crucial our pupils get the best possible opportunities to achieve and that they have a valuable and productive educational experience.
“It is also vital the standard of a pass, and of an A grade pass, is equitable between social subjects.
“We believe the current Higher Modern Studies course and assessment demands do not allow for this. This is not an acceptable position.”
The letter concludes: “We suggest an independent review group to look at National 5 and Higher... as happened in 2000, the last time there was such a loss of confidence in the SQA by the profession.”
Iain Gray, education spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party, called for immediate improvements, adding: “These concerns demand to be taken seriously by the SNP government, and John Swinney should now conduct a review about these pressures across all subjects.”
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An SQA spokesman said: “We met with the association in December to discuss a range of issues, including... potential changes at Higher for 2018/19.
“We will continue to engage with the association to ensure Scotland’s modern studies courses move forward in line with the profession’s expectations.”
He said analysis of the relative degree of difficulty of different courses had shown no issues with modern studies exams.
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