To understand this story it is absolutely VITAL to understand that when charges were introduced the actual system was also changed. Apparently that's too much to ask.
Before the change, teachers could genuinely 'appeal' for a better grade than a student managed in an exam. We did that by submitting evidence to show that the exam grade wasn't a fair reflection of a student's ability.
That evidence included prelims and other appropriate material (in my subject, it might include other essays written under exam conditions, for example).
The new system IS NOT AN APPEALS SYSTEM. All that can be requested now is an admin check of the scores (to make sure they've been added up properly) or a remarking of the same paper.
So if you're the student who has been brilliant every single day of the year and has one bad day in the exam then the Scottish system currently says to: tough.
It should be an absolute scandal, frankly, that this was ever allowed, and the failure of opposition parties and unions to demand action is an indictment.
This basic change will explain much of the shift in applications. Although the cost issues will be a factor too, my gut instinct is that it's less of a factor.
Kids from more affluent backgrounds are going to be more likely, overall, to perform 'as expected' in exams because they are likely to face fewer issues that could affect performance.
Private schools of course primarily serve that group. So when the focus shifted from the old appeals system to the new I suppose we should have expected a shift in the balance of applications as well.
So yes, the current system is unacceptable and inequitable, but just dealing with the charging issue doesn't fix it. At all.
Incidentally, the reason the SQA gave for the change was that the previous system was too much work and therefore too expensive. I sort of feel like kids' futures are probably worth a bit of extra graft but that's just me.
And either way, there were a number of options. Take a serious look at why our exam system doesn't do what it claims (never going to happen); adjust the system to reduce the number of applications; burn the whole thing down. The SQA went for option 3.
The only real 'appeals' left are for Exceptional Circumstances, but these are quite tightly defined and requests need to be in within 10 working days of the exam. So if the kid doesn't tell a teacher what's going on until results are out the answer is, once again: tough
Under the old system thousands and thousands of appeals were granted each year. So thousands and thousands of exam results were accepted as being an inaccurate measure of students' abilities.
And now, there's nothing but those same flawed exams.
And now, there's nothing but those same flawed exams.
I am, to be frank, sick and tired of seeing great students not get the grades I know they should because the SQA has been allowed to just not bother operating an appeals system. It's absolutely outrageous.
