Scotland’s only exam board is refusing to answer questions about its failure to publish important reports on exam performance, The Herald can reveal.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has failed to meet its own deadline to publish material known as ‘Course Reports’, having previously stated that they would be available “by the end of October”. These subject-specific documents are supposed to provide information on the performance of students during the most recent set of exams.

The reports are “useful to teachers, lecturers and assessors in their preparation of candidates for future assessments,” according to the SQA. They are published every year

Many subject course reports have been made available since publication commenced on September 23, with some only going online yesterday – the last day before the passing of the exam board’s own deadline.

However, some reports are still missing, but the SQA refuses to confirm which subjects are affected or give any explanation for the delay.

The Herald understands that Higher History is one of the subjects where the report has been delayed, in that case due to the ongoing investigation into “unfair”, post-exam changes to marking standards. This review is also overdue, with the SQA originally advising that it was expected to be completed by September 27, but now unable or unwilling to confirm when it is due to conclude. More than 10,000 students could be affected, with papers potentially having to be remarked and grades reissued.

The SQA had originally insisted that marking of Higher History has been “consistent with previous years” and described The Herald’s reporting as “misleading”. The exam board claimed that the sudden falls in test scores and pass rates was simply down to poorer performance from students.

However, during a meeting with education secretary Jenny Gilruth, the SQA confirmed that it had u-turned and that an investigation had been launched, although this review is being carried out by a member of SQA staff rather than an independent organisation or individual. No public announcement of these decisions had been made.

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The failure to publish all course reports on time heaps further pressure on the SQA, which could soon become Qualifications Scotland if government reforms are successfully passed.

The SQA was asked to confirm which subject course reports would not be published by the deadline of October 31, and to clarify when those materials would be made available. The organisation was also asked to explain the reason for its failure to publish all reports before the start of November as originally planned.

In response, a spokesperson said: “We are working hard to finalise the remaining course reports and will publish these as soon as possible.”

However, at 12.17pm, more than two hours after this story was published, the SQA contacted The Herald asking us to "disregard" the statement that had been provided to us and replace it with the following:

“More than 100 course reports were published by the end of October, across a wide range of subject areas.

“That represents around 80% of the total number of course reports.

“We recognise that course reports are a valuable resource and thank teachers for their patience while we work hard to finalise and publish the small number of reports that remain outstanding.”

The above response still fails to answer the questions that were put the SQA.

Commenting for the Scottish Conservatives, education spokesperson Miles Briggs MSP said: “This is a thoroughly shambolic and wholly unacceptable response from Scotland’s supervising body on exams. The delays, confusion and lack of accountability show that the SQA is unfit for purpose – so it’s also a damning indictment of the SNP’s unforgivable delay in delivering reform.

“The SQA owes pupils, parents and schools a complete and transparent account of what has gone wrong here and must act quickly to rectify it. SNP ministers, who have dithered for years, must now deliver a qualifications authority fit for purpose, and not merely try to palm off schools and colleges with some cosmetic rebrand.”

The Scottish Liberal Democrats' education spokesperson, Willie Rennie MSP, was also critical of the exam board:

“If the SQA wants to regain the trust of teachers, pupils and presents it should be open and transparent about this important matter. With missing course reports and a missed deadline something is clearly going wrong.  They should be upfront about that so people can understand.”

Scottish Labour Education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP said: “The SQA must provide clear answers about the delays to these reports, not least because they include vital information to help pupils and teachers plan for the future – and they’ve been through enough with the SQA already.

“This is another example of why the SNP’s proposal to simply rebadge the SQA is not good enough – trust will only be rebuilt with real reform.

“People in Scotland should be able to expect at the very least, competency and transparency from public bodies, but under the SNP secrecy and incompetence have become the norm.

“Teachers, pupils and parents have been failed by the SNP’s mismanagement of Scottish education for too long – we need change.” 

The Scottish Government refused to comment, claiming that this is an "operational matter" for the SQA.