Black Isle mother among those upset at Scottish Qualification Authority's downgrading of pupils' exam grades
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AN UPSET mother whose daughter suffered exam heartache has raised new concerns over the reliability of Scottish Qualification Authority results (SQA).
Nationwide furore greeted revelations this week that the national exam body had rejected teacher assessments and downgraded the Higher and National 5 results of nearly 125,000 Scottish pupils.
Much of the anger focused on how pupils from poorer schools were hardest hit by the “moderation” process designed to avoid a large increase in pass rates.
But author and Black Isle community activist Verity Walker described how her daughter, a fifth year at high-achieving Fortrose Academy, was left distressed by a D fail in Higher psychology despite being tipped for a possible A.
The blow has left question marks over her chances of taking up a conditional offer to study the subject at the University of the Highlands and Islands.
With schools closed and exams cancelled during the pandemic, teachers were asked to estimate pupil grades. The young woman overcame a lengthy period of ill health to take three Highers without sitting National 5s in fourth year, earning a C in English and a B in Latin. She will appeal her one fail.
Ms Walker said: “She worked extremely hard. She was unwell and couldn’t attend school for two years. When she finally got herself back, she did these three Highers from scratch.
“Psychology was by far her top subject. She did extremely well and her teacher had nothing but praise. Her final piece of work, to my mind, was fascinating. It’s very odd. Something has gone badly wrong.
“It could be this year’s psychology results were perceived as not matching the poor results of previous years. Under a different teacher this year’s class thrived. It’s a horrible feeling not knowing. My daughter has really suffered.
“For the SQA to reject how teachers rated those pupils shows a mistrust of teachers. Quieter, introverted children like my daughter have thrived during home schooling.”
Fortrose Academy head teacher Gavin McLean said: “We have a number of subjects with significant unexplained discrepancies between what the teacher estimated and what was finally delivered. I would expect a significant number of appeals from my school.”
While parent councils in Dingwall and Tain were not aware of issues at their school, Alison Clarke, chairwoman of Invergordon Academy’s parent council, said: “Across the board, there’s a feeling that higher-achieving pupils have maybe been unfairly downgraded.”
Shadow education minister and Highland MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston said: “Local pupils and their families feel very let down. Futures are at stake and all we get from SNP ministers is hand wringing and deflection.”
