Exam revision support criticised as patronising

Exam revision guides aimed at easing pressure on students disrupted by Covid have been branded patronising by the Scottish Conservatives.

Labour and the Lib Dems called the SQA study guides insulting while the Greens said they were "woefully inadequate".

For some courses, the guides involve advance notice of content that will or won't be in the exam.

However, for others the study support offers advice such as read the question properly and check your spelling.

Formal exams are expected to go ahead between April and June, having been cancelled two years running due to the pandemic.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) had earlier pledged to take a "generous" approach to grading for National 5s, Highers and Advanced Highers and there have been changes to the way assessments are carried out.

• Extra support for Scottish pupils ahead of exams

• The SQA has now published the detail of its revision support.

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said she had "sought reassurances from SQA that learners and teachers are getting the support they need to prepare for this year's exams".

She added that "targeted exam preparation sessions" would be available to those who most need it over the Easter break.

Due to the significant disruption that has affected Scotland's schools throughout the year, it was announced last month that some courses would give advice and support to prepare pupils for the exams.

In subjects where pupils will sit tests, the support includes some detail of content that will or will not be in the exam and details of "significant modifications" to exams and assessments.

Exam technique advice includes suggestions such as "follow the instructions in the question paper carefully", "you should spend more time on a 12-mark question than you do on an eight-mark one" and "think before you start writing".

Physics pupils preparing for their Higher exams have been told: "It's always a good idea to spell words correctly. An incorrectly spelled word may make your answer unclear or ambiguous."

The SQA, which apologised for the botched release of the details on Monday night instead of Tuesday afternoon, said that the support available to students for different subjects had to be looked at in the round and viewed as a package.

For some subjects coursework had already been removed, it said, and the exam had already been narrowed so providing a study guide was deemed enough support.

SQA chief executive Fiona Robertson said: "The measures are the fairest and best way we can help support all learners, while also maintaining the integrity, credibility and standard of the qualifications."

But the SQA has been criticised by parties at Holyrood.

Scottish Conservative education spokesman Oliver Mundell said: "Pupils and parents have been left feeling patronised by the SQA's so-called revision guides.

"These were meant to help kids after months of missed learning, and two years of botched exams by the SQA - but it's little wonder some have branded them useless, when some of the advice is so basic.

"Suggestions that pupils check their spelling is not what the SNP promised would be in these guides, and will not help those struggling with their revision."

'Misplaced and misjudged'

Scottish Labour education spokesman Michael Marra said the verdict from Scotland's teachers and pupils was that the guides were of no help to anyone.

"Much of the content is downright insulting," he said.

"After years of disruption and huge losses of learning to be advised to check your spelling in lieu of any proper support is unbelievable."

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesman Willie Rennie said: "The SQA should have been abolished long before now and this shambles proves it beyond doubt.

"Advising students to read the exam questions is so obvious that it is insulting.

"The Scottish government's defence of the leadership of this body is misplaced and misjudged."

The Scottish Greens also called the SQA study support "woefully inadequate".

The party's Ross Greer said: "The documents should be withdrawn and immediately revised. It is insulting to issue senior pupils with advice as meaningless as 'try to answer every question you are asked'."

He said many of the guides were full of bland platitudes and the kind of basic advice already being issued by schools and colleges.

Scotland's largest teaching union, the EIS, said it had always been clear that this latest package would not be enough to mitigate for the impact of Covid disruption, especially for the most disadvantaged pupils.

It called for additional study support for those worst affected by the pandemic.

The EIS also said it would be seeking subject-specific feedback on how useful the SQA revision support was for particular subject areas.

In June last year, the education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announced that the SQA would be scrapped as part of a "substantial overhaul" of education, which will see a new agency put in charge of qualifications.

A report by Prof Ken Muir is expected to set out very soon what the future should hold.