Education chiefs are the real failures here

EXAM results day is always an ordeal for pupils as they wait for the big brown envelope to drop through the letterbox.

They know the piece of paper inside has the potential to shape their future and upend their plans for good or for ill.

Yesterday, this drama was tinged with bitter disappointment for thousands whose marks were downgraded.

When exams were cancelled as a result of Covid-19, teachers were asked to estimate a grade based on a pupil’s year-round attainment, with the figures to be moderated later by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

Critics warned this could lead to unfair results. And the SQA’s decision to reduce more than 124,000 marks – a quarter of the total – confirms the sceptics were right.

Did teachers engage in widespread grade inflation to offset the disruption caused by coronavirus? Or is the SQA’s moderation process faulty in its discounting of the professional opinion of educators?

Why wasn’t more done to raise awareness of the potential for a scenario like this back when exams were called off?

Decisions at all levels will have to be scrutinised without fear or favour. The SQA’s decision-making has been called into question more than once and its facility for angering ministers, teachers, pupils and parents at the same time, while impressive, is starting to wear thin.

The Scottish Government’s shillyshallying early on about the details of this approach did not help and if it was frustrating for teachers, it was nothing short of exasperating for pupils and parents.

The injustice is especially keen for pupils from the most deprived areas. This is where lesser-performing schools tend to be and it did not matter how hard any of these youngsters worked.

Predicted grades were moderated based on a school’s past attainment rather than the individual pupil. If you studied hard all year long but attend a struggling school, your classmates’ marks pulled you down.

If you barely cracked open a book but live in a good catchment area, the labours of others meant your grades got rounded up.

If nothing else, young people have been given a thorough education in how unfair life can be.

The havoc wreaked by Covid-19 has put unprecedented pressure on all involved in education. Muddles were to be expected but this was more of a blunder and seemingly an avoidable one.

Lessons will have to be learned and prime among these is the virtue of transparency.

John Swinney’s tenure as Education Secretary is beginning to resemble a conveyor belt of missteps, mishaps and eleventh hour climbdowns.

This is another gaffe for a minister who cannot afford many more. It is imperative that Mr Swinney gets to the bottom of what went wrong and takes remedial action.

Politicians will battle over who is to blame and how such an eventuality can be avoided in future, but this row should not overshadow the achievements of pupils. They must not be discouraged by the failures of those in charge of their education.

Everybody fails from time to time. What matters is what you learn from it. Whether or not yesterday’s post brought everything they hoped for, young people deserve congratulations for doing their best in unusually trying circumstances.