SQA results day. A day that, typically, would see pupils across Scotland wake from a restless night of sleep, anxiously awaiting the arrival of post through the letterbox, or the buzz of a phone. A day during which many tears are shed, for reasons good or bad. But not this year. This year students already know what grades await them in the dreaded envelope.
As a sixth-year pupil who struggles with their mental health, I was studying only two subjects this year. Despite a smaller workload and already having an unconditional place at university, my final school year still managed to steal the prize for being the most stressful, even worse than the 2020 fiasco.
Following the Easter break, a gruelling timetable of class assessments arrived in my inbox. My school’s exam diet (sorry, “assessment diet”) was scheduled over two weeks in May. Although, surely, the exams had been cancelled? Yet, I had back-to-back final assessments with no study leave and more than one assessment per day. It all felt very official and there wasn’t much time to prepare.
SQA results 2021: How we got to SQA results day 2021
SQA and the pandemic: SQA boss on exams turmoil and 18 months of Covid
Scottish results day 2021: Brighter days lie ahead after year of Covid
Analysis: Is teacher judgement of 2021 grades really being trusted?
Flashback to May: Exam questions shared on TikTok ‘SQA black market’
Key findings from 2020: Priestley review of the 2020 SQA results fiasco
In both my classes, we had covered most of the course, albeit mainly at home. However, I struggled to remember many of the topics learned online. Studying from my bedroom during lockdown, it felt as though the work lacked purpose. I was completing it but not necessarily understanding it.
Once back in school full time, I had lots of catching up to do. We sat prelims in December but I had missed one due to ill health. I was advised I could resit the exam in January - no problem. Then Scotland was put under strict lockdown. When we returned in March, there was no time to gather additional evidence, placing a much greater emphasis on these final assessments.
Not every school used the same assessment method. Some schools split their final assessments into smaller tests over a longer period. Some schools had study leave. Some schools did resits of assessments. There were also opportunities to find answers to exam paper questions on TikTok and share information with pupils at other schools. It was no longer a level playing field.
How can pupil experience be compared fairly when the assessment period and methods varied so greatly across local authorities? This makes me question the validity of grades. Surely there could have been other avenues pursued this past year, plans made earlier, such as having more optionality in the assessment papers.
This school year was different to every other in many ways, and the way we received results was no exception. I was given an appointment to meet with my pupil support teacher in the last week of term to find out my results. I received my grades, printed on a sheet of paper: they were not as good as I’d hoped but were ultimately fair, based on the evidence available.
I’m fortunate, as I already have a place at university. My younger brother was sitting exams for the first time and was disappointed with some of his grades. If he had been in school as normal with consistent coursework, teacher motivation and guidance, I’m sure he could have achieved his potential. I’m certain this is the case for many young people around Scotland, who, this year, have been let down by the exam system.
This year’s results day will not hold the same emotion or anticipation as in previous years; the SQA certificate is strictly a formality. Pupils will now prepare for the coming school year with no idea what it holds or what a future exam diet may look like.
I have now left school, but I hope that the pupils of years to come are rewarded with an improved assessment system - one that doesn’t discriminate or disadvantage, but instead supports and enhances every child’s strengths and abilities.
The author recently left school in Scotland after completing sixth year
