Scottish exam bosses DOWNGRADE 25% of results after teachers tried to give pupils the best pass rate ever when COVID cancelled tests - so will the rest of Britain's teenagers suffer the same fate?

  • Moderating authority had to mark results down after teachers gave highest ever 
  • Scottish pupils got the results today, which still showed a rise in pass rates
  • Marks were estimated after coronavirus pandemic meant that exams were axed
  • Education Secretary John Swinney insisted teachers had acted professionally

Exam bosses responsible for accrediting qualifications in Scotland have marked down 124,564 pupils – after 'optimistic' teachers tried to give them the highest results in history for their coronavirus-cancelled tests.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority downgraded the students' marks for the exams that were not sat, changing a massive 93.1 per cent of all the moderated scores.

Chief Examining Officer Fiona Robertson said if the SQA had not stepped in exam pass rates would have risen at every level and would have been the highest on record.

Pupils took to Twitter to share memes about the incident, with one sharing a video of Greta Thunberg while others told of their disappointment. 

Aiden, 17, from Falkirk was predicted to get three As and a B but was given a B and 3Cs and has been encouraged by his teachers to appeal. He said today: 'I was very proud of the Scottish education system but after this I am really disappointed.' 

Dylan Quigley finding out his exam results with his sister Louise and mum Susan

Dylan Quigley finding out his exam results with his sister Louise and mum Susan

The grades – which even after moderation saw a rise in pass rates across the board – were worked out by teachers based on their pupils achievements during the year pre-Covid.

It saw the number of students accepted to university rise with 28,970 people will start in higher education this academic year after meeting the requirements for university.

Ms Robertson said: 'There may be several reasons why estimates were above historic attainment, which has been relatively stable over time.

'Some teachers and lecturers may have been optimistic, given the circumstances of this year, or may have believed, correctly or incorrectly, that this cohort of candidates may have achieved better grades due to a range of factors.'

The exam results came out this morning and showed the National 5 pass rate was 81.1 per cent, the Higher pass rate was 78.9 per cent and the Advanced Higher pass rate was 84.9 per cent.

They have risen from 78.2%, 74.8% and 79.4% respectively up from 78.2 per cent, 74.8 per cent and 79.4 per cent last year.

In many cases the SQA knocked down the results down a grade, with a total of 45,454 entries moderated down from grades A-C to grade D or to no award.

More than a quarter - 26.2 per cent - of grades were moderated by the SQA, a total of 133,762, while 377,308 entries were accepted unchanged.

There were 653,000 entries or exams this year which went into the SQA.

It flagged a number which looked unusual, which made up over a quarter of the sum.

They were then moderated and sent back to the schools. 

Pupils across Scotland reacted to the news today, with many missing out on the grades they had hoped for.

Pupils took to Twitter to share memes about the incident, while some told of their disappointment

Pupils took to Twitter to share memes about the incident, while some told of their disappointment  

Lewis Nixon from Bishopbriggs, just outside Glasgow, is another pupil who raised questions over how the results were calculated.

The 16-year-old told PA: 'I got As in history and modern studies; Bs in maths, English and PE; a C in chemistry, and a D in computing - this was despite getting a C in my computing prelim and an A in both my English and PE prelims.

'A lot of people in my school feel that they have also been marked unfairly, even though our school is usually up very high when it comes to nationwide exam grades.

'But I also know a lot of people who go to schools in more deprived areas who have been given terrible grades despite doing well through the school year.'

Moderation: how and why the results were marked down

The Scottish Qualifications Authority received 653,000 entries or exams at the end of this academic year

Of them assessors thought that a number of them - 26.2 per cent - looked irregular or out of step with expectations

These were then taken out for moderation and anonymised for the start of the moderation process

Specialists in the relevant subjects were brought in to help assess whether the papers should be marked up or down 

Of the 133,762 exams, a total of  124,564 were marked down by the authority

They then had their names reattached and sent back to the relevant schools and colleges

The remaining 73.8 per cent were awarded as estimated 

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She added: 'I don't understand why the SQA are deciding our results when our teachers have a much better understanding of our work and progress.

'Even then, there is almost never a reason for moving someone down a grade from their predicted grade - it's been a shambles.

'Our teachers have even been emailing us saying they've not got a clue what's been going on.'

Others were happy with the grades they received on Tuesday morning.

Brooke Adam, an S5 pupil at Linwood High, was part of a group who opened their results live on TV.

The 16-year-old said: 'I got six As and a B and I'm very happy with it.

'Next year I am doing five Highers and when I leave school I'd like to be either a paediatric doctor or a child's nurse.

'It was a bit nerve-wracking because we didn't sit exams so I didn't have an idea of how I'd done so that was a bit weird.'

A 17-year-old pupil from St Ninian's High School in Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, who has a rare autoimmune condition called myasthenia gravis, has celebrated gaining five As.

Zainab Alani from Newton Mearns said: 'When I was diagnosed with the condition it was quite frightening and then as part of my management plan I had to go in for surgery.

'As soon as I was able I wanted to get back to school so that I could get some normality back in my life.

'Now I want to pursue a career in medicine to give back to all the amazing nurses and doctors who have cared for me throughout this difficult time.

'I'm so delighted that I've got the results now which will hopefully help me go in the direction that I want to.'

Pupils celebrating their exam results at Linwood High in Renfrewshire after they were released

Pupils celebrating their exam results at Linwood High in Renfrewshire after they were released

Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said pupils should feel proud of themselves - but then took aim at the SQA.

He said: 'Pass rates are up, and I congratulate all the pupils who have worked so hard, and their teachers who faced a mammoth task of assessment,' he said.

'It is clear though that too many young people have been hit hard by the SQA's so-called moderation. Too many have seen their results lowered, often with passes turned into fails, damaging their prospects for university or college.

'Worst of all, the SQA have done this on the basis of each school's past performance, marking the school not the pupil, and baking in the attainment gap. They were told that this would be grossly unfair and it is. The SQA have also treated teachers' professional judgement with contempt.

GCSE and A-Level results will be decided by statistical modelling – not just teachers' predicted grades 

Statistical modelling will be used to determine the majority of this year's A-level and GCSE results as opposed to predicted grades from teachers. 

Exam regulator Ofqual announced the government u-turn in July after concerns regarding the reliability of teacher-predicted grades were raised. 

The new statistical model will take into account a number of factors, including pupils' previous attainment, results of previous students at the same school and the predicted grades teachers submitted in March.

This will mean thousands of English pupils will avoid the disappointment experienced by thousands of their peers in Scotland today.

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'The SQA will now be deluged with appeals. I hope they are ready to deal with them properly.'

Education Secretary John Swinney insisted that he believed teachers had acted professionally.

He admitted there would be an appeals process for any pupils who thought they had got unfair marks.

Mr Swinney said: 'Without moderation, pass rates at grades A-C compared to last year would have increased by 10.4 percentage points for National 5, by 14 percentage points for Higher and by 13.4 percentage points for Advanced Higher - annual change never been seen in Scottish exam results.

'I know teachers and lecturers will always want the best for their pupils but I believe that teachers have acted professionally.

'I know that learners who did not achieve what they were expecting will be disappointed, however, the SQA will be operating a free appeals process this year.'   

Clare Marchant, the chief executive of Ucas, congratulated students who had got their results

She added: 'The increase in people with a confirmed place, especially the record number from Scotland's most deprived areas and those choosing to study nursing, should be particularly celebrated, with their achievements providing their passport into higher education.

'Universities and colleges are ready to support students in making the transition into higher education during this, the most challenging of years, with appropriate plans in place to start teaching in earnest, and student safety their paramount consideration.'

Sir Michael Wilshaw, former chief inspector of schools in England and head of Ofsted from 2012 to 2016, said it was an 'absolute moral imperative' that teachers worked with students who have 'fallen furthest behind'.

Asked about the implications of today's Scottish results for pupils in other parts of the UK, he told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme: 'We have to remember that not all schools are good. The great majority are, but not all schools are good, if schools aren't good they're usually poorly led where the assessment systems are not well managed.

'So it's really up to the examination body Ofqual (Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) to make sure that they are really rigorous in making these judgments.'

He added: 'From what I've read, children will have, young people will have the right of appeal against the grades they have been given by the school and can do a final examination in the autumn in October, November. So I suspect quite a lot of youngsters will want to do that and I would encourage them to do it.'

He continued: 'There's a moral duty it seems to me - more than ever - for teachers to make up the lost ground that children have suffered... I would be saying: well look, curtail your summer holidays, come in for a few days to work, not with everyone, but with the ones, with the students we know have fallen furthest behind. It's an absolute moral imperative that they do that.' 

Deputy First Minister and Education Secretary John Swinney said teachers and lecturers would always want the best for their pupils and insisted they had acted professionally

Deputy First Minister and Education Secretary John Swinney said teachers and lecturers would always want the best for their pupils and insisted they had acted professionally

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