Fife to check every exam result after SQA downgrading backlash

Fife councillors are to launch an immediate report into SQA exam results for pupils.

Officers have been told to produce a full report which compares predicted results against actual grades – and it will cover every secondary school in the region.

The decision came at the first full meeting of Fife Council to be held since the beginning of lockdown, and followed a backlash against the Scottish Government and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) after thousands of pupils received worse results than they had expected.

Teachers submitted assessments based on pupils’ performance across the academic year, but the country’s exam body lowered an estimated 125,000 grades.

Calling for a full report, Councillor Altany Craik said: “It can’t be right that our kids are penalised based on where they go to school and its previous record, not their actual performance.

“This motion, and this issue, is very much of today, and vital for the young people who are sitting at home wondering what’s next and what’s going to happen with their appeals.”

The report will provide a detailed analysis of exam results, and compare them with factors such as socio-economic backgrounds and school areas across the region.

It is expected to be presented to the next policy and co-ordination planning committee meeting on August 27.

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The report will come after the deadlines for urgent appeals on exam results on August 14, and less urgent appeals on the 21st.

SNP members, Cllr Fay Sinclair, convener of Fife’s education committee, and Cllr David Alexander, co-leader, raised concerns over the lack of time for officers to collate the data.

Cllr Sinclair said: “I’m in no way saying that things have run smoothly this year, and I’m in agreement that we need to look at these issues – but setting that rigid date of the next policy and coordination meeting would be folly.”

“Officers need time to do a detailed analysis, and this needs to be done properly. That will take more time than a couple of weeks.”

Cllr Alexander noted that “it’s important not to rush this” and that time needed to be given to review the previous years’ results as well.

Tories, Cllr Richard. Watt and Cllr Kathleen. Leslie noted that this concern was a “farce” and that if the report wasn’t conducted as soon as possible, then students wanting to go to university next month would lose out.

Councillor Craik sympathised with concerns over the timescale, but said the report was “urgent” and “needs to happen as soon as possible. ”

The Lib Dems’ education spokesman, Councillor James Calder said pupils have “the right to feel not just disappointed but angry” at how their results have been worked out.

He said: “We need to have this urgent report. We cant wait for this and I’m really happy to support this motion.”

An amendment raised by councillor Sinclair regarding timing was withdrawn and the motion was unanimously agreed.

> Hannah Brown is Local Democracy Reporter for Fife and Angus.

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