SQA Results Day: the analysis I've been reading

Following SQA results day earlier this week, I wanted to share with you some of the analysis and comment pieces I have found interesting in the days since.

On this Substack, there will be much more analysis to come of the results in the near future, so please keep your eyes peeled! Also, please do get in touch if there is any analysis you would particularly like to see.

Self-promotion

First of all, I was privileged to have comment pieces published in The Herald and The Scotsman:

• The Herald - Why exam results mean 'alarm bells should be ringing'

• The Scotsman - The stark, sobering figures behind SQA results

The Herald piece is presented in slightly more detail, but both stem from the same core point of analysis: that the results are deeply concerning -

“Attainment is down for all at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher level. Simply, these results are – as the Herald’s own Education writer James McEnaney has said – disastrous.:

…

“Attainment down; inequality up. Alarm bells should be ringing…What today’s results mean is that the culmination of twenty years of continuous education reform in Scotland, ten years of it being self-defined as the Government’s ‘number one priority’, and billions of pounds of spending focused on the Scottish Attainment Challenge is falling pass rates for all and widening education inequality.”

And while both articles attempt to make a call for a policy response fitting the size of the challenge, the reality of the worsening situation schools are facing in terms of resources cannot be ignored:

“…we can only hope there is a reflection and assessment of the situation from policymakers. In the year ahead schools are facing cuts to staffing numbers, fewer resources available to them, ongoing issues with attendance in classrooms, and further structural reform that isn’t in line with the findings of Independent Reviews. That is not a recipe to change these trends.”

Articles worth checking out

James McEnaney at The Herald has a number of articles - a blend of comment and data analysis - which are worth your time:

• Students failed by a system getting back to normal

• Exam attainment gaps at record levels as pass rates fall

• Scottish exam results are not ‘back to normal’ – they’re worse

Elsewhere in The Herald, Garrett Stell has an article focused on the attainment gap: what it is (and isn’t), how it is measured, and ultimately who is responsible for it. We were clearly inspired to write similar pieces on this at the same time (read mine here) but his is includes the relevant figures and Scottish Government comment:

• Explainer: Scottish attainment gap continues to widen

Emma Seith and Henry Hepburn at TES have once again provided their fantastic, rich, and detailed analysis of the results. Not just on the attainment gap, but dual entries, grade boundaries, and just about everything else. A must read:

• SQA exam results: the attainment gap widens

• SQA grade boundaries: Higher pass marks by subject

Calum Ross at The Scotsman has an excellent piece on the difference in pass rates between different Local Authorities:

• Mapped: Every Scotland council's higher exams pass rate as shocking 20% gap revealed

Olivia Brennan on X had great thread of analysis setting out issues in how the headline figures of the ‘attainment gap’ are presented (of which I am always guilty of doing!) She notes the gap only of course covers people who have actually attempted a qualification, and that the stark reality is worse than these headline figures:

• Read the thread

Alex Massie in The Times had an interesting piece reflecting on the Scottish education system:

• Scotland’s education system is defined by mediocrity

What have you been reading? Let me know in the comments, or on X (@BarryBlackNE).