Scottish pupils could face 'treadmill' of tests in exam plan

School pupils could face a "treadmill" of exam-like tests in case the 2021-22 diet is cancelled, teachers have said.

General secretary of the EIS union, Larry Flannagan, said the contingency plan would involve teachers collecting evidence as well as preparing for exams which risked a "dual system".

He said a letter from the SQA suggested that assessments throughout the year would be "qualification-level".

Scotland's education secretary said the plan was "fair and credible".

Formal exams have been cancelled for the past two years because of the pandemic - but there has been criticism about the way grades were decided.

Senior pupils complained that assessments which replaced exams were just "exams by another name", after some had to do the tests under similar conditions - but with much less preparation.

'Code for 'qualification-level''

On Wednesday it was announced that National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams would go ahead next year if it is deemed safe for them to do so.

If there is further disruption to learning but exams can still go ahead, the Scottish government said there would be modifications to courses and assessments.

If exams cannot take place, the contingency is that awards will be made on teachers' judgements based on normal in-year assessment.

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However Mr Flanagan told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that the SQA had suggested those tests would not be based on pupil progress - and instead would be more like sitting an actual exam.

He said: "I have some concerns about the SQA letter which was published yesterday which suggests teachers could be collecting evidence across the year whilst also preparing for exams. That to us runs the risk of a dual system and that creates an assessment treadmill for pupils.

"You do have classroom assessment in order to feedback to pupils but what the SQA said was the nature of those assessment should be rigorous - and what they really mean by that is a code for qualification-level.

"There are two types of assessment - the normal everyday around progress and the summative; where are you in terms of your ability to pass an exam. What we don't want is what we had last year which is SQA-driven assessments being scheduled across the whole year."

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An announcement published by the SQA on Wednesday said that if exams were cancelled due to public health conditions, teachers and lecturers should "use their professional judgement of assessment evidence" to determine grades.

It said assessments should "provide an appropriate degree of challenge, integration and application of the key knowledge and skills of each national course".

'Open books'

Scotland's Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said what would be expected of pupils this year would be "different" to the last.

She said: "The work we've been doing over the summer with the national qualifications group - which includes the EIS, parents and young people's representatives - has allowed us to hear their views and to build an assessment package that is fair and credible on the assumption we will have exams if public health allows it to happen.

"What we've tried to do is ensure that we recognise that there is still a level of disruption, and taking into the account the pandemic is still with us.

"Of course we still have to make modifications. What we're reducing is the content of exams to make it more simple for teachers to guide students about what would happen.

"If we see additional disruption to what's happening there can perhaps be further modifications, for example more use of open books or an advance note of topic areas for revision purposes."