Scottish Greens education spokesperson
has renewed his call for Education Secretary to cancel the 2021 exam diet in full, after the Welsh
Government announced it would cancel all exams.
Mr Greer has consistently called on the Scottish Government to
base 2021 grades on assessment made by teachers throughout the
year, highlighting the unfairness of asking pupils who may have
missed weeks of class time in self-isolation to sit exams and the
risk of those exams being cancelled entirely at short notice.
said:
“The Welsh Government has taken the only responsible approach by
cancelling all 2021 exams. It’s not fair to ask pupils who have
missed weeks of class time to sit an exam next May on the same
basis as those who have been fortunate enough to avoid any
disruption.
“The Scottish Government has so far opted for a bizarre halfway
house by cancelling Nat 5 exams but pressing ahead with Highers
and Advanced Highers. It’s becoming increasing clear that this is
a mistake which should correct immediately.
“The only reliable solution is to cancel the 2021 exams now and
grade Highers and Advanced Highers on the same basis as National
5s. Assessment based on work throughout the year can take into
account whether a pupil has missed substantial periods of time
due to self-isolation and removes entirely the risk of exams
being cancelled at the last minute, as they were this year.
“The Scottish Greens worked hard to secure a fix to this year’s
grading debacle, restoring 124,565 grades lowered by the SQA.
We’d prefer to avoid the need to fix another mess next August."
