New exams body plans to shake up qualifications system

A shake-up of the qualifications system could be in the pipeline after Scotland's new exams body gave more details of plans for a major review.

Qualifications Scotland, which has taken over from the SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority), wants to ensure exams are "absolutely fit for purpose".

Chief examiner Donna Stewart said it was looking at both the length of the exams and whether qualifications would continue to be offered in some "low uptake" subjects, although she said Gaelic would not be affected.

The changes will not be implemented until 2031, but she said some exams could be made shorter in the meantime.

The SQA was created in 1997 but was scrapped after a series of controversies, including the downgrading of some students during the Covid pandemic.

Because exams were cancelled, teachers had provided estimated grades. The SQA then applied a moderation algorithm that downgraded many results, especially for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

There have also been marking and assessment controversies and the SQA was accused of a lack of transparency and poor communication.

When the legislation that established Qualifications Scotland (QS) was passed last year, concerns were raised that the new body would be "little more than a rebrand" as many of the SQA staff would remain.

However, this was rejected by chief executive Nick Page who said the new board included five practising teachers.

"We are absolutely fundamentally changing this," he said.

"It is a new board. We've carried through three, four, people from the previous board and we have now got another five.

"We've got a whole new governance structure, we have got a whole new set of people. It is very different."

He described Qualifications Scotland coming fully into operation on Monday as a "momentous occasion", adding that it was "developing a world-class qualification system that enables people of whatever age, from whatever background in Scotland, to learn, have their assessment recognised and be employable".

Stewart told the BBC's Radio Scotland Breakfast programme that the new organisation would learn lessons from the past and "listen very carefully".

Asked if exams were too long, she said: "We have a mandate to look at less reliance on high stake exams and, where there is possibilities, to maintain standards across our qualifications."

Stewart said QS's approach would not be pre-meditated and would be focused on "engagement and consultation".

The chief examiner also confirmed that while subject uptake was significant it was "not the most important thing".

Stewart added: "The most important thing for us this year is that we deliver a really successful exam diet and awarding."

Last year the SQA dropped question papers from its National 5 qualifications in the subjects of practical cake craft, practical metalworking and practical woodworking.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said Qualifications Scotland would "deliver real improvements for learners, teachers and Scotland's education system".

"For pupils and students, they will have a strengthened role in shaping decisions on qualifications and assessment, ensuring qualifications are fit for purpose in modern Scotland - with less reliance on high-stakes exams and greater recognition of achievement in all its forms," she said.

She added: "For Scotland's education system, this is about building something we can all trust.

"Qualifications will be developed collaboratively with those who study and deliver them, ensuring they are relevant, rigorous and fairly recognise the achievements of all our children, young people and adult learners."

If you are a teacher, the launch of Scotland's new exams body is big news.

Classroom teachers repeatedly raised concerns about the top-down approach of the old SQA.

They also highlighted what was lost in translation between the Curriculum for Excellence, classroom lessons and final exams.

There is a new person at the helm and a new governing structure.

Qualifications Scotland is already talking a lot about consulting and collaborating and, most importantly, listening to teachers.

But if you are a parent, you might be asking what difference this will make in practice.

Is it just a name change? In most ways, the experience of pupils taking Nat 5s or Highers this summer will be very similar to those who took exams last year.

Lots of coursework, revision, and nerve-wracking final exams.

But the new body has said it will review every qualification to ensure it is fit for purpose.

Later this week we expect to hear more about further changes and, potentially, the end of exams in certain more practical subjects.

Some subjects, it has said, may even end up with shorter exams.

When you are sitting in a silent exam hall watching the clock, the difference between an exam lasting two hours and one lasting three hours is significant.

But, for now, we don't know exactly what most of these changes will look like.