Last week marked the start of the 2024 Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) exam diet - the third since the pandemic.
Pre-Covid approaches have been reinstated, especially with the return of assignments, a decision that was made with little consultation for the wellbeing of candidates or teachers, but one which should in theory allow learners to show off better what they have learned.
Many - though not all - courses will culminate with a high-stakes exam in a big hall, as has been the case all the way back to the origins of the Higher in 1888, with considerable pressures put upon our learners to recall everything they need to pass a fairly narrow set of questions.
Moving away from memory tests
For many courses it’s a memory test, assessing the ability to recall formulaic responses in a manner that allows SQA markers to award marks easily, based on a snapshot at a particular moment in time.
The argument for exams is that they are a simple way to evaluate how much a learner has learned and to benchmark learners against each other, so that universities, colleges and employers can see who has more knowledge than their peers.
It also helps society to see which schools are “performing better” than others when we add up all the results and benchmark schools against how many can get their learners, say, five Highers or more.
For S6 students this will most likely be the third year in succession where they have had these high-stakes exams - yet no other country does this.
We also have a “forgotten third” who don’t get even one National 5 award, whose National 4s are less valued because they are not exam orientated.
In many ways, the move from Standard Grade (and the principle of valued certification for all) to Nationals was not inclusive.
Are school league tables accurate?
No one in education really believes league tables reflect the true worth of a school.
For decades exams have measured individual and school successes in this manner, a result of the wrong metrics being used by the Scottish government in the National Improvement Framework; society seems to accept this as a norm. But is this “aye been” approach really the best and most accurate way to reflect the knowledge and skills learners have acquired? No.
Equally, is this ability to recall a fraction of the knowledge gained, in an exceptionally short period of time (a couple of hours out of a year of study) in an alien environment (the big, draughty hall) really the best way to demonstrate how a learner would use accumulated knowledge and skills in a real-life context? No. And how many of us ever sit exams again after school, driving tests aside? A small fraction.
There is no doubt the status quo is not working. Our system failed the stress test of the pandemic, as we know, and it was only the massive efforts of teachers through the “alternative certification model” (better known as the ACM) that ensured students in those cohorts gained their qualifications.
The case for continuous assessment
The proposals from Professor Louise Hayward’s 2023 review highlight the way ahead and need to be taken forward, refined and adapted by teachers to suit our young people in the 21st century.
Far better, it is proposed, to assess using continuous assessment - for learners to be taught a unit of work over say a term, then tested on knowledge and skill acquisition. Plus, such testing can also be done in a normal class environment.
Continuous assessment more accurately reflects how knowledge and skills would be gained and used in a relevant period of time. And, by testing in class rather than the big hall, we remove another unnecessary cause of stress and anxiety that affects the ability of learners to recall truly what they have learned.
This also implies trusting teacher judgement, with collegiate support and moderation. Bold decisions are required and a clear vision for how we assess our learners.
Graham Hutton and Peter Bain are, respectively, the general secretary and president of School Leaders Scotland
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