SQA replacement to carry out major review of all qualifications

Scotland’s new exams body is to carry out a major review of all qualifications to ensure they are “absolutely fit for purpose”, its chief examiner has said.

Qualifications Scotland, which takes over from the Scottish Qualifications Authority, is looking at both the length of the exams that students sit, and whether qualifications will continue to be offered in some “low uptake” subjects.

Chief examiner Donna Stewart said the new body was “looking at reform in terms of reviewing all the qualifications we have in our portfolio”.

She added: “We’re looking across that and making sure that the qualifications that sit in our portfolio are absolutely fit for purpose in a modern and flourishing Scotland.”

This work is being carried out “in collaboration” with students, teachers, colleges lecturers and also training providers and industry, she stressed.

Ms Stewart said: “We’re making sure that what we’re working with with learners and schools is feeding into their adult life and feeding into what Scotland requires.”

She added that while there is “great uptake” for some of the qualifications on offer, there are “some we have had for a number of years that require reviewing”.

Asked what qualifications might no longer be available after the review she said: “I genuinely can’t tell you that, because it is not for us to determine, it is for us to listen to what Scotland needs, listen to what our learners need and actually weight that up.”

However Ms Stewart stressed: “Something like Gaelic, we absolutely would not stop something like Gaelic, it may have low uptake but it has importance in our community and in our society.”

While the review is not due to be implemented until 2031, the chief examiner said in the interim Qualifications Scotland was looking to see if some exams could be made shorter.

It comes after the SQA dropped question papers from its National 5 qualifications in the subjects of practical cake craft, practical metalworking and practical woodworking last year.

And Ms Stewart said Qualifications Scotland was continuing to look to see how processes could be made “much better for learners and for teachers”.

She told journalists: “We are just about to start engaging on a whole suite of qualifications that we will look to reduce exam length – that’s one of the proposals, the actual duration of the exams.”

This can be done “without impacting on the integrity of the qualifications”, Ms Stewart insisted.

She added: “What we do know the system is ready for just now is much more agile qualifications, ready for a reduced workload on teachers and ready for reduced assessment for learners, while still maintaining the integrity of our qualifications, so we are working towards those principles.”

Chief executive Nick Page said the new body was “developing a world class qualification system that enables people of whatever age, from whatever background in Scotland, to learn, have their assessment recognised and be employable”.

He described Qualifications Scotland coming fully into operation on Monday as a “momentous occasion”.

It replaces the SQA, which was created back in 1997 but suffered controversy over the downgrading of some students during the Covid pandemic.

However when the legislation that established Qualifications Scotland was passed last year, concerns were raised that the new body would be “little more than a rebrand”.

Such concerns however were dismissed by Mr Page, who insisted: “We are absolutely fundamentally changing this.”

He continued: “How are we different? I spend a day of the week, of my working week, in a school or college.”

Ms Stewart added: “It is important as a new organisation that we are different, and that difference has to be listening and acting differently.”

The board of Qualifications Scotland meanwhile includes five practising teachers or lecturers, with the chief executive stating: “It is a new board.

“We’ve carried through three, four people from the previous board and we have now got another five.

“We’ve got a whole new governance structure, we have got a whole new set of people. It is very different.”

Meanwhile education secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “Qualifications Scotland will deliver real improvements for learners, teachers and Scotland’s education system.

“For pupils and students, they will have a strengthened role in shaping decisions on qualifications and assessment, ensuring qualifications are fit for purpose in modern Scotland – with less reliance on high-stakes exams and greater recognition of achievement in all its forms.”

She continued: “For Scotland’s education system, this is about building something we can all trust.

“Qualifications will be developed collaboratively with those who study and deliver them, ensuring they are relevant, rigorous and fairly recognise the achievements of all our children, young people and adult learners.”