The ‘Opinions’ section of this website is where we collect blogs from teachers, academics, pupils, parents, politicians, business, industry, and anyone else who wants to share their thoughts on examinations in Scotland.
If you’d like to contribute a blog to our Opinion section, please contact us by email mail@exam.scot or by direct message on Twitter; we’d love to feature your thoughts on the site.
An Open Letter to the Cabinet Secretary
Dear Cabinet Secretary Arrangements for the Assessment of National Qualifications 2021 I am writing to place on record my concern and that of many …
The Action Generation
By Harriet Sweatman, student, winner of the 2019 Scottish Review Young Writer of the Year Around November 2018, I wrote a piece about …
Exams: Why has it all gone wrong?
By Liam Fowley, MSYP for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley @LiamMSYP (Please note, this is not a piece on behalf of SYP or the stance the …
On Car Parking & Qualifications
Darren McGarvey, award-winning author, commentator, rapper “What we must not forget is that the system of moderation was not some anomaly – it was an …
On Aussie Rules football, Picasso’s advice and English exams
by Peter McNally The winning team must sing a song on the final whistle. Melbourne based teams regularly play home games in Cairns. Their strips …
SQA – The Root of the Problem
by Chris Noble@BrotherMunro I have a tendency to look for the root of a problem – it is a curse that goes along with being …
Scottish Education’s 10 Letters
by Barry Black@BarryBlackNE Last week I spoke at the Scottish Policy Forum’s Conference on the Review of the Curriculum for Excellence. I set out how …
Awaiting the Priestley report
by Isabelle Boyd@CoradCor1 As we approach the end of September, all of us with an interest in Scottish education are awaiting the report from Professor …
A change would do you good? – Assessment and examinations in Music
by Dr Angela Jaap@angelajaapLecturer, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland The Scottish Government’s ‘U-turn’ on the SQA results has prompted some very lively discussions around the approaches …
Teaching (without a final exam): National progression awards in law
by Paul Hamilton@_PaulHamilton Let’s start with a bit of context. I have been a secondary school history teacher for eleven years. In that time, I …
Assessment: My road to Damascus
by Iain White@iainwhitecreat1 I believe there is a the need for a change in our assessment practices and I’d like to share where this has …
“Inequality runs deeper than paying or not paying for schooling”: a tutor writes
by Hannah Smethurst@HannahSmeth1 Before you read this, it’s important to note that I’m not a “real” teacher. I am a part-time private tutor, offering 1-to-1, …
The fault in our system: suggestions for assessing english
by Sammy McHugh@MsSammyMcHugh 2020 has been a challenging year, and in many ways the exam furore has been the tin lid for those of us …
Five steps to better exams
by Melvyn RoffePrincipal, George Watson’s College, Edinburgh@roffeme Firstly, we have to be humble and realise that all examination systems are flawed. We should thus be …
In defence of exams
by Matthew Marr@MrMarrHistory It’s not hard to find reasons to criticise the exam system. Some say it’s unfair to base a child’s future on a two …
Status Quo or Something Else?
by George Gilchrist@GilchristGeorge The current debacle and furore around examination results across Scotland, and the rest of the UK, has revealed to many some of …
On self-evaluation, continuous assessment, examinations and wine-coloured folders
by Professor Brian BoydEmeritus Professor of Education at Strathclyde University Amidst the current furore of the exam system, I’d like to propose an alternative process. …
This is not a political statement, but Scotland is a conservative country. Take a look at education.
by Isabelle Boyd@CoradCor1 About 10 years ago, I had the opportunity to visit a hospitality school in Paris. It was assessment day and the students …
Unit eAssessments, coursework, exams and ‘Learner Credits’: A new 4-part approach to assessment
by Drew Burrett@PhysicsDrewPhysics Teacher and Institute of Physics Coach It has been a long, long time since I last blogged, but the recent issues …
Starting a new conversation about examination and certification in Scottish schools
by James McEnaney@MrMcEnaney If ever there was an opportunity to have a serious conversation about examination and certification in Scotland, it is surely now. The …