Results Day: Attainment gap grows as pass rates fall

The attainment gap between the most and least deprived pupils in Scotland has widened, exam results show.

There has also been a fall in pass rates across the board for National 5s, Highers and Advanced Highers.

This is the first year courses have returned to normal post-pandemic, with full course assessments across each of the three levels.

Just one in four students who sat an Advanced Higher this year received a grade of A to C, lower than the 79.4 per cent who did so in 2019.

The attainment gap at that level stands at 15.5 percentage points – up from 13.2 points in 2019.

For Highers, 74.9 per cent of pupils achieved grade A to C. This is broadly similar to 2019, though the attainment gap widened by 0.3 percentage points to 17.2.

For National 5s, A to C attainment was 77.2 per cent – also down from 2019, when it was 78.2 per cent. The attainment gap at this level was also 17.2 percentage points, up from 17 in 2019.

But the total number of awards for vocational-based courses increased by a quarter.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth has offered her congratulations to young people, whom she said showed “remarkable” resilience given the disruption to their school careers.

But she added: “Scotland is not unique – and like countries the world over, our education system is still in recovery from the pandemic. Undoubtedly, that has contributed to some of the variability we have seen in results this year, particularly with the full return to qualifications requirements for the first time since the pandemic.

“I am determined to work with our teachers, school staff and local authorities to drive further improvements in our schools.”

A review of the curriculum is currently under way after international Pisa statistics published last year found a fall in the performance of Scottish education.

The Scottish Conservatives said the Scottish Government had “failed a generation”. Education spokesman Liam Kerr said: “The widening of the attainment gap continues to shamefully let down pupils from our most deprived backgrounds. The reality is that the SNP have failed a generation of Scotland’s pupils during their time in office.

“Nicola Sturgeon wanted to eliminate the poverty-related attainment gap in our schools but it has widened year after year. John Swinney cannot escape his role in this scandal having been a former education secretary and having sat around the cabinet table for all but one of the 17 years his party have been in charge.”

Labour’s Pam Duncan-Glancy also said young people had been “badly let down”. She said: “The results speak for themselves – the poverty-related attainment gap is at its highest ever level, while attainment has also fallen for all… Despite the best efforts of teachers, staff and Scotland’s young people, they are being forced to pay the price of 17 years of SNP failure and SQA chaos.”

The EIS, Scotland’s largest teaching union, has called for the attainment gap to be tackled urgently through qualifications and assessment reform.

The Scottish Government published its Education (Scotland) Bill at the start of June, which seeks to replace the SQA and also create a new inspections agency. The parliament’s education committee is currently seeking views on the legislation.

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said: “At a time when student need is growing, staffing levels and resources for schools and colleges are shrinking. This needs to be turned around.

“This year’s results also underscore the need for urgent reform of senior phase assessment and qualifications. Review after review of Scottish education, most recently the Hayward Review, has highlighted how the current treadmill of high-stakes exams is not fit for purpose, least so for the most socio-economically disadvantaged students; and must be reformed.”

Despite the growing attainment gap, statistics from Ucas show a record number of 17 and 18-year-olds have secured places at university or college.

Nearly 2,000 pupils from the 20 per cent most deprived postcodes have been accepted, up 46 per cent from 2019.

Ucas chief executive Dr Jo Saxton said: “Widening access is a key priority for Ucas, and of course for universities, colleges and schools in Scotland. Today’s figures demonstrate the tremendous efforts made to support applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve their aspirations and career ambitions.”