A SENIOR geography teacher has taken the unusual step of writing to Deputy First Minister John Swinney to complain about changes to the Higher exam.
Iain Aitken, principal teacher of geography at Belmont Academy, in Ayr, raised a raft of concerns about the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), including the late arrival of key documents.
Mr Aitken said staff would begin teaching Higher geography in June, but may not have all the relevant sample papers until September.
He said: “How can I deliver a quality experience for learners when essential information is not published until one quarter of the way through the course?”
Mr Aitken, who has passed his concerns to the Scottish Parliament’s education committee, also questioned the rationale behind the changes.
The reason Higher exams are being reformed is because the Scottish Government approved the scrapping of classroom internal assessments introduced as part of the Curriculum for Excellence.
The assessments were unpopular because they took a long time to administer, but the SQA said their removal meant more questions being added to final exams.
Mr Aitken said: “This increase in assessment and length of exams is totally unnecessary.”
Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland, said school staff from a variety of different subjects had raised similar concerns.
He said: “Issues such as essential subject information not being published prior to the commencement of courses, late notification of changes and the severe impact on workload are continuing to increase levels of anxiety and stress.”
Seamus Searson, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA), said the removal of units was not intended as an excuse for “wholesale changes”.
He added: “Planning is essential for quality provision and it is essential full details of the course and specimen papers are available before courses begin in June.”
However, the SQA said it had been asked to make changes to assessments within a tight timescale.
A spokesman said: “The removal of units means we need to strengthen assessments to protect the integrity, credibility, breadth and standards of courses.
“Where we are extending the duration of a question paper this has been considered according to the specific assessment needs of each subject.”
The SQA said for the vast majority of Highers, including geography, exams would remain one part of a mix of assessment including coursework.
“For all subjects we have published a document summarising what changes we are making to assessment.
“Higher specification documents will be published by the end of April and updated support materials - including a specimen exam and coursework - will be published between May and September.”
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