Changes to the way pupils have been assessed during the pandemic will continue over the next year, the Scottish Examinations Board has said.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) had changed the National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams and some National 3 and 4 courses.
The goal of the changes was to reduce exam volume and reduce the workload of students and teachers.
The SQA said changes would remain in place as the effects of the disruption would not go away after the summer.
SQA reduced some subjects, offered some students a choice of assessments and pre-announced topics for others in 2020-21 to help students who missed classes or lost time with teachers because of Covid.
- Scotland’s pupils start their first exams in three years
- The exams should go ahead as planned, says SQA
- Students taking exams under a different name
- Scottish exams canceled for the first time in history
Fiona Robertson, SQA chief executive and Scotland’s chief examiner, said the panel recognized the “ongoing disruption” that Covid has brought to learning.
She added: “The effects of the disruption will not go away after the summer break.
“Carrying over the assessment changes into the new academic year will help provide students, teachers and faculty with some reassurance and free up more time to study and teach the course content, while maintaining the integrity and credibility of their qualifications.”
The alternative assessment procedures for Higher National and Vocational Qualifications (HNVQ) will also continue for 2022-23.
Pupils across Scotland took their first exams in three years on Tuesday as the exam period began.
More than 128,000 candidates will take exams over a period of five weeks.
It comes after the 2020 Trial Diet was canceled – for the first time ever – as a result of the pandemic.
This year, coursework was not assessed for National 5, Higher, or Advanced Higher courses, and instead teachers were asked to estimate student grades.
However, moderation resulted in 125,000 estimates being downgraded and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon eventually apologized for the fiasco.
In 2021, exams were canceled again after a surge in Covid cases prompted a second lockdown. Grades were again awarded on the basis of ‘teacher judgement’ – but this time based on evidence gathered in tests.
However, students complained that they were taking “exams under a different name” after some schools ran numerous tests under exam-like conditions but with much less preparation.
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