The approach to Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) exams in 2022 will be known by the start of the next school year, education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told the Scottish Parliament this afternoon.
She also advised that plans to “replace” the SQA, which she announced yesterday, will “not affect certification and awarding processes in the current and coming academic year”.
Ms Somerville revealed, too, that Ken Muir, formerly chief executive of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), will lead the response to yesterday’s report on Curriculum for Excellence.
Tes Scotland coverage of the OECD report on Curriculum for Excellence
The main messages: OECD review paves way for qualifications overhaul
The government response: SQA to be replaced, education secretary reveals
On testing in primary: Replace standardised tests with sample survey
On secondary assessment: How should Scotland change its exams?
On teacher workload: Reduce contact time to realise curriculum goals
The timescale for replacing the SQA: New exams approach will not happen overnight, says Somerville
The education secretary made her comments a day after the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published its 139-page report on CfE, which included concerns about tension between its aspirations and Scotland’s approach to assessment in the latter part of secondary school.
Plan for SQA exams in 2022 ‘will be available in August’
After the fallout over the cancellation of national SQA exams in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus, Ms Somerville told MSPs today: “I want to be in a position to confirm our central planning assumption for awarding qualifications in 2022 for the start of the school term in August, to give as much certainty for learners, teachers and the system as possible. This will take account of the latest state of the pandemic.
“Last week the first minister [Nicola Sturgeon] committed to reviewing our approach to self-isolation for young people identified as contacts, and any changes here could have a significant bearing on the extent of disruption for individual learners in the next school year, and, in turn, our decision on whether to hold an exam diet or use an alternative model of certification.
“I know that many stakeholders support us taking the next few weeks to think through these issues and take account of the latest public health advice, before we confirm our central planning assumption at the start of the new school term.”
Ms Somerville added: “I signalled my intention to reform Education Scotland and SQA. I want to be clear that this is not reform for reform’s sake; all of the changes we make will be guided by the central principle that they improve the experiences and outcomes of children and young people in Scotland’s education system.
“I want to assure learners and candidates across Scotland that these plans will not affect certification and awarding processes in the current and coming academic year.
“To that end, I also want to acknowledge and thank all those working at SQA and the wider profession who are working above and beyond to ensure learners receive the recognition they deserve.”
Ms Somerville also said that a “detailed implementation plan on the OECD’s recommendations” - all of which were accepted by the Scottish government - should be published in September, and that “I want to move decisively to avoid unnecessary uncertainty”.
She announced that Professor Ken Muir CBE would lead the response, with his work beginning in August and finishing around six months after that.
Ms Somerville also said that she was “establishing a Children and Young People’s Education Council to sit alongside the Scottish Education Council” to “ensure that the voices of those who are most affected by any changes in education are always heard loudly and clearly in strategic discussions”.
She added: “I want consideration of the lived educational experience of young people, current teachers, leaders and other practitioners to be fundamental to the work I do and the decisions I take as education secretary.
“It is essential that we take a rights-based approach and that we achieve genuine parity of esteem for young people’s views.”
The Scottish Greens’ education spokeperson, Ross Greer, asked if the Scottish Standardised National Assessments (SNSA) would be scrapped after they came in for criticism from the OECD.
She gave no such indication, saying that the value of the SNSAs had been demonstrated by an independent review in 2019.
The OECD review of CfE, published yesterday, praised its “bold, aspirational, value-driven and future-oriented approach”, underlining that the “basic ideas of CfE are still valid” and “inspiring” almost two decades after it was conceived.
However, the OECD review also highlighted fundamental flaws in the implementation of CfE - including a wide divide between its aspirations and the demands of the heavily exams-based system in the latter part of secondary school.
