One of the most wonderful things about walking around Oxford at this time of year is seeing hordes of young people celebrating the end of exams: finals, A-levels. GCSEs. Hundreds of miles north in Scotland, younger students may soon have another reason to celebrate altogether: the end of National 5 qualifications.
An imminent review of secondary Scottish assessment is widely anticipated to recommend ditching exams for 15 and 16 year olds, and replacing National 5 qualifications (the Scottish equivalent to GCSEs) with a new system. Under the new proposals, students would be judged on coursework alongside a Scottish ‘diploma’ which recognises extra-curricular activities, sport and volunteering. The review was announced in October 2021 after a damning OECD report found there was a ‘lack of robust data for assessing school performance’, no clear leadership on curriculum development and a narrowing of subject choices offered to pupils.
Exams are the closest thing we have to a social leveller: it is just you and your pen in the exam room
If the review does propose such a radical change, and the recommendations are accepted, then this will be a disaster for Scottish schools.
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