Commenting on the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement of reforms to qualifications and assessment, Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said:
“The decision to retain National 5 examinations in most subjects is supported by the majority of NASUWT members.
“The encouragement of more use of continuous assessment/coursework seems reasonable, though this needs to be assessed on a subject-by-subject basis. Alongside this, any quality assurance systems to support enhanced coursework must be fit-for-purpose and not burdensome on teachers. The impact of Artificial Intelligence on coursework also needs to be fully considered.
“We have pointed out previously that there has been a lack of sufficient detail around the proposals for more use of Inter-Disciplinary Learning and ways to better reflect non-academic and extra-curricular achievements by pupils, so the commitment that this work will be led by teachers themselves is welcome, as is the promise to pilot any new approaches.”
Mike Corbett, NASUWT National Official Scotland, said:
“We note the Cabinet Secretary’s comments about financial constraints, but appropriate resources must be committed to these education reforms if they are to succeed, not least to give teachers the time and space to properly develop and embed them.
“It is also essential to establish coherence between this and other planned educational reforms, such as the replacement of the SQA and the introduction of an independent schools inspectorate. Piecemeal reform will undermine any attempts to improve the current education system.
“While much of the Scottish Government’s plans for education revolve around structural change, cultural reform is as, if not more, important. There is a history of reform being imposed on the profession, rather than introduced in collaboration with it.
“If we are to avoid a repeat of some of the problems with the current system of qualifications and assessment then ministers must recognise they need to start putting the voice, experience and knowledge of those working in classrooms front and centre in the development of these reforms.”
