Edinburgh MSP's survey finds three-quarters of pupils dissatisfied with SQA assessment process

More than three quarters of senior pupils who took part in a survey organised by an Edinburgh MSP said they were “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with the current assessment process to grade their national qualifications.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article.

Labour’s Daniel Johnson wrote to all 16 and 17-year-olds in his Edinburgh Southern constituency to ask them about their experience and views on the process amid concerns that they were effectively being made to sit exams despite being told it would all be decided on teachers’ judgement.

He received 230 responses, with 49 per cent of pupils saying they were “very dissatisfied” and 28 per cent describing themselves as “dissatisfied”.

Pupils protesting outside the Scottish Parliament over exams    Picture: Lisa Ferguson





COVID 19  - A COUPLE OF STUDENTS PROTEST OUTSIDE THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT THIS AFTERNONN WITH REGARDS TO EXAMSPupils protesting outside the Scottish Parliament over exams    Picture: Lisa Ferguson





COVID 19  - A COUPLE OF STUDENTS PROTEST OUTSIDE THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT THIS AFTERNONN WITH REGARDS TO EXAMS
Pupils protesting outside the Scottish Parliament over exams Picture: Lisa Ferguson COVID 19 - A COUPLE OF STUDENTS PROTEST OUTSIDE THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT THIS AFTERNONN WITH REGARDS TO EXAMS
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Some 73 of the responses specifically mentioned the unfairness of the system and 96 commented on the stress and strain the whole process had caused them.

Mr Johnson sad he would now be writing to the Scottish Government and the Scottish Qualifications Authority to highlight the findings.

Read More
Edinburgh MSP asks pupils about their experience and views of controversial SQA ...

National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams have been cancelled for a second year because of the Covid pandemic, but the government insisted it would avoid the fiasco of last year’s attempt to award qualifications by algorithm, which saw pupils from poorer areas arbitrarily downgraded before ministers did a U-turn and reverted to teacher assessments instead.

Assessment tests have been branded exams in all but name     Picture: David Jones/PA WireAssessment tests have been branded exams in all but name     Picture: David Jones/PA Wire
Assessment tests have been branded exams in all but name Picture: David Jones/PA Wire

But assurances that this year’s awards would be based purely on teacher assessments were undermined when the SQA issued tests for pupils to sit under exam conditions, leading to claims they amounted to exams in all but name.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Johnson said the responses to hs survey were “damning and extremely worrying”.

He said: “Pupils have been under so much pressure since the outbreak of the pandemic and it's very concerning to hear so many mention how stressful the experience has been and how unfair they have found the system.

“These injustices need to be addressed. We owe it to our young people after the year they have had with the pandemic.

"There is a strong feeling from many of the young people that they have had a constantly moving target about what they would be facing and how they would be assessed this year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Before Christmas they were very much left with the impression it would be continuous assessment, then a lot of people felt the prelims would be the most important thing and then finally we got these mini-exams.

“All the while the government was saying it would be ‘a range of evidence’ but actually it’s not a range of evidence, it’s just these tests.

"I think there is a real sense of unfairness, lack of clarity and a lot of stress – and all these things need to be taken into consideration when grades are being awarded.

"The brutal point is there is a real strength of feeling that this has not been managed well and not been managed fairly and the government and the SQA need to take heed of that.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I would like to thank all those who took the time to respond and I will now make contact with the SQA and the Scottish Government with these troubling responses.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.