A Scottish parents’ organisation is warning that students sitting exams this year could pay a “heavy price” because there is no mechanism in the grading process to take into account the challenges they have faced due to the pandemic.
Connect says students should be able to make the exam body, the Scottish Qualifications Authority, aware of their personal circumstances this year - for instance, if they have had significant periods of absence or if their school has been hit with high levels of staff absence.
But currently, Connect says, there is no way for young people to highlight the barriers they have faced.
Currently Scottish students will be able to appeal their result if it is lower than their teacher’s estimate, and there will be an exceptional circumstances service in place for students who are unable to sit the exam - for instance, because they are isolating or ill with Covid. However, they will not be able to make a request to the exceptional circumstances service because of Covid disruption in the lead-up to the exams.
SQA exams 2022: Fears about Covid-hit students’ grades
The SQA says this is because learners across the country have been affected by ongoing disruption to learning and teaching and to address this adjustments have already been made to coursework and exams. It also highlights that in March it provided revision support materials. These, however, came in for considerable criticism from teachers, many of whom said they added nothing.
Eileen Prior, executive director of Connect, said the situation is not “fair or right” - and her concerns were echoed by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS).
Gina Wilson, head of strategy at the CYPCS, said her office is “still hearing concerns that some young people feel their ability to access learning has been significantly affected and they don’t understand how that will be considered”.
Speaking to Tes Scotland, Ms Prior said: “If a young person has had significant periods of absence, or if their teachers have had significant periods of absence, that has a very significant impact on their ability to really have their knowledge and understanding tested, and just now that is just not being addressed in any way.
“So many young people have missed massive tranches of their education, or not had a subject teacher, and it does not feel fair or right that they are going to carry the can for this.
“Once again, we feel that learners are potentially paying a heavy price for Covid.”
The CYPCS said some of the measures put in place by the SQA to take account of the impact of the pandemic “may mitigate some of the disruption experienced by young people”.
But Ms Wilson added: “We are still hearing concerns that some young people feel their ability to access learning has been significantly affected and they don’t understand how that will be considered. The entire education system must be rights-compliant and take account of barriers in accessing education throughout the pandemic.
“Scottish government must address concerns that the pandemic is exacerbating inequality and provide children and young people with a route to remedy where their right to education has not been fulfilled.”
Responding to the Connect comments, an SQA spokesperson said the modifications made to 2021-22 course assessments back in June - which included, for instance, removing the coursework element from some Higher subjects - and the revision support provided last month were both designed “to take account of the ongoing disruption to teaching and learning caused by the pandemic”.
The SQA spokesperson added that “the exam exceptional circumstances and appeals services are in place to support learners who either cannot attend an exam or do not perform as well as they expected”.
“Learners can appeal their result free of charge if they are eligible, including if their awarded grade is lower than their estimated grade,” the SQA spokesperson said. “The service will again be open for learners to appeal directly to SQA or through their school, college or training provider.”
However, Connect also raised concerns about this, saying teacher estimates were “fraught with issues” and that teachers might have been “less confident in them and potentially less aspirational, particularly if learners have had repeated periods of absence or, indeed, teachers have been absent”.
Connect also said that teachers had to provide estimates earlier this year - but the SQA disputed this, saying submission deadline dates were not any earlier than in previous years.
The SQA spokesperson said: “We know that learners may be feeling apprehensive or anxious about sitting formal exams for the first time this year, and are doing all we can to support them. The package of support we are providing, in addition to the support being provided by Education Scotland, local authorities, schools and colleges, represents the fairest and best way we can help all learners, while also maintaining the integrity, credibility and standard of their qualifications.”
Last month Scottish schools recorded their highest levels of Covid-related staff absence - with over 6,000 teachers and support staff off work on Tuesday 15 March because of Covid.
The Scottish exams get underway on Tuesday 26 April.
