Anonymously marked exam papers are still the best way of guaranteeing consistent standards in Scottish schools, a think tank has argued.
The future of the exams system has been hotly debated following the decision to scrap the 2020 and 2021 exam diets as a result of the Covid pandemic, and also as a result of the findings of the recent Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) review of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).
The OCED report highlighted the “misalignment between CfE’s aspirations and the qualification system” in the senior phase of secondary school and led to the Scottish government announcement in June that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) would be replaced.
The Scottish government is due to make a decision at the start of the new school year on whether the 2022 exams will go ahead, with the 2021 SQA results due to be published tomorrow.
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The Commission on School Reform, which includes education academics and is part of the Reform Scotland think tank, has now published a paper titled Exams - Do We Need Them?
It concluded that, while coursework is an important part of the assessment system, anonymously marked exams remain the best way of guaranteeing that standards are consistent and results are equitable between different social groups.
The paper said a system based purely on teacher judgement could result in unintentional bias for or against certain social groups, such as a “halo effect” around affluent pupils who have previously performed well.
The paper has been published amid the ongoing debate over the future of exams, in which some educators have argued strongly for exams to be fundamentally reformed or even scrapped.
Keir Bloomer, who leads the group, said: “Examinations are not good at everything. Coursework can assess skills and understanding that examinations cannot.
“However, the experience of exam cancellations over the last couple of years tells us all we need to know about the important role that exams play in ensuring quality, consistent marking, and equity across the social divide.
“They test memory and focus, and teach young people how to consolidate knowledge over short periods of time, which are important and useful skills for life and work.”
Dr Bloomer added: “Furthermore, anonymous marking is effectively insurance against the sort of rapid grade inflation that ultimately only ends when every pupil returns straight As, which would do no favours to either individual pupils or the country as a whole.
“If Scotland were to scrap exams altogether, as some wish, it would put us out of step with the rest of the world, which increasingly relies on a hybrid model of coursework and exams.
“That should be our future, too.”
The long-awaited review of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence(CfE) by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that assessment approaches in the senior phase should be “fully aligned to match CfE ambitions” - it suggested this could include more continuous teacher assessment, externally marked projects and extended essays, and oral and practical presentations.
A more detailed report on potential changes to qualifications is expected from the OECD later this month.
A number of headteachers and other educators have made the case since the Covid pandemic began for exams to be scrapped, or at least substantially reformed.
