Reminders of the vast inequality that exists in Scotland’s education system are never in short supply.

Just recently, research revealed that the poorest young people in Scotland are as likely to leave school with one Higher as their most affluent peers are to have five. Across every area - from results to subject choice, literacy and numeracy - we see a stubborn poverty-related attainment gap that could be mistaken for a chasm.

Of course, the driver of inequality in education is not the four walls of the classroom, but wider socio-economic inequality. As in many other sectors, the Covid-19 crisis threatens to further entrench these inequalities.

While a lack of research means that predicting the eventual outcome of school closures is difficult, existing evidence from summer holidays can help to paint the picture. Even during a normal six-week break, the reading and numeracy abilities of the wealthiest pupils increase, yet decrease for the poorest.

Background: Huge challenge of closing attainment gap is laid bare

Coronavirus: Disadvantaged pupils face six-month ‘learning loss’

Looking ahead: ‘The impact of part-time school will be greater than that of lockdown’

The new normal: ‘Is the old status quo worth rushing back to?’

These extraordinary times mean that every family in Scotland is facing extraordinary challenges, but the situation presents further hurdles for already disadvantaged young people. There are the obvious issues that moving learning online presents - internet access, technology and a space to work - and some excellent work is being done to address this.

Coronavirus: Can we change education for the better?

But this is only the first step in accessing material: learners getting help to engage with it is far more of a challenge. This is when the deeply ingrained issues of differences in parental attainment and a structured learning environment will present real problems, on top of factors such as additional support needs.

The focus should not be on the immediacy of keeping things “normal” in the next few weeks, but asking bigger questions of what normal should mean after the summer and beyond. Normal before coronavirus wasn’t working for swathes of young people - we knew that already.

The first stage of building back better is in assessment. Taking a more holistic approach to gauging a student’s experiences, abilities and skills could bring us to a place where the objectives of Curriculum for Excellence would finally be realised.

If there was ever a chance for hard questions and big thinking about our education system, it is now. Yet, the opportunity for forward thinking is so far distant from the reality that has been taking shape.

Presented with the opportunity to make the most of a terrible situation, for example, long-awaited Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) guidance on grade estimates, modelling and verification for the coming cohort of candidates has missed the mark. We know disadvantaged students will already be facing big setbacks as a result of the pandemic; the SQA model puts up even further hurdles if you happen to find yourself in a low-attaining school.

We have a vastly unequal education system in Scotland, which is a a product of a vastly unequal society. We need to use this time of uncertainty and be bold - we need a new normal, and that process must begin now.

Barry Black is a postgraduate education researcher at the University of Glasgow. He tweets @BarryBlackNE