For the first time, all Scottish schools are to get access to marked exam papers in five subjects in the wake of this year’s exams.
The papers will be made available in a trial being run by exam body, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). They will become available on Tuesday 6 August , which is exam results day.
The subjects and levels included in the trial are:
- Geography - National 5 and Higher
- Graphic Communication - National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher
- Media - National 5
- Music - National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher
- Statistics - Advanced Higher
SQA coordinators will be able to access the marked papers via the online portal, SQA Connect.
Access to marked papers will ‘ensure transparency’
The SQA - which informed schools of the trial last week - said that the aim was to ensure transparency, as well as to help inform decision making for appeals and next steps in learning and teaching.
It said the pilot, which will involve only exam papers marked from image at this stage, would also help inform plans to make a wider range of marked papers available in the future.
SQA chief executive Fiona Robertson said: ”This is a significant step in expanding the services we offer Scotland’s learners.
”We are committed to being fully transparent and open with our assessment processes, and to transforming how we work as we move towards the creation of a new qualifications body.”
The national pilot follows a small trial across two subject areas that took place after the 2023 SQA exams.
Teaching union ‘opposed’
However, Scotland’s largest teaching union, the EIS, has said it is opposed to the return of marked papers, which it fears could increase workload for secondary teachers, including SQA coordinators.
The EIS said in a statement: “Specifically, members have voiced concerns that it risks creating expectations - from pupils, parents and some educational management - that teachers verify SQA marked papers in pursuit of speculative appeals.”
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