Standard Grades axed in schools shake-up

Overhaul of Scottish education promises exams tailored to pupils' needs by 2012

STANDARD grades are to be axed in an overhaul of Scotland's exam system.

Children now in primary six will be the last to sit the exams, which are taken by every state school pupil in Scotland.

Intermediate exams will also be scrapped in the shake-up.

They will be replaced by new qualifications called "General" grades which will be introduced in 2012 in addition to literacy and numeracy exams for all school leavers.

Fiona Hyslop, the education secretary, said the move was needed to meet the needs of the 21st century, even though the format for the General qualification has not yet been finalised.

She said: "Pupils across Scotland are about to start Standard grades in the next few weeks.

"We have a strong qualifications system, but we need a next generation. The problem is that it is seen as a very complex system and we are trying to simplify it."

At present, pupils study all subjects in the first two years of secondary school, and then specialise in up to nine subject areas.

From 2012 pupils will sit the new "General grade" at the end of fourth year but more able children will be able to go straight on to Highers or a mix of the two.

The idea is to enable teachers to "tailor" an exam diet appropriate to each child's ability.

In addition, fourth year pupils will have to take exams for a compulsory Scottish Certificate of Literacy and Numeracy in December.

Highers will remain as the "gold standard" of Scottish school education, but will be reviewed along with Advanced Highers.

New baccalaureates in science and languages, which will be made up of Highers, Advanced Highers plus a project, will run in S6.

Business leaders welcomed the new emphasis on basic skills, but teachers were cautious.

Ronnie Smith, the general secretary of Scotland's biggest teaching union, said: "The EIS remains to be convinced of the value of potentially removing the Standard grade and Intermediate 1 and 2 to replace them with another general level qualification. Standard grade is a well recognised qualification, which is valued by employers, teachers and parents and which provides a valuable exit qualification for those pupils who elect to leave school following fourth year.

"We need to be careful not to lose the many positive benefits that Standard grade currently offers to pupils."

Judith Gillespie, development manager of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said parents would be happy as long as any new exams reflected ability and were respected by employers, universities and colleges.

However, political opponents demanded more detail.

Rhona Brankin, Labour's education spokeswoman, said: "There is widespread recognition that change is necessary for our national qualifications."

But she added: "These new awards do not in themselves ensure that young people become literate and numerate, or that Scotland eradicates illiteracy."

Consultation with parents, schools, universities and employers will take place from June to October.

That should inform decisions on whether the new General exams will run for one or two years, begin in S3 or S4, and whether content will be externally examined or internally assessed by teachers.

The changes have been spurred by the new Curriculum for Excellence due to land on teachers' desks in August.

Criticisms have abounded in recent years that the Standard grade, introduced 24 years ago, was no longer effective preparation for Higher exams.

Standard grades allow every child, whatever their ability, to gain awards. But that led to criticism that the lowest grades were meaningless, and some schools dropped them altogether.

Welcome for advent of 'simpler system' for business
BUSINESS leaders have long been critical of school-leavers' ability to read, write and count.

Employers yesterday welcomed new compulsory literacy and numeracy exams all pupils will have to take before leaving school.

Iain Ferguson, policy executive at CBI Scotland, said: "For business, literacy and numeracy are the bedrock of any employee's education.

"We said before the election that business really begrudges training employees up to the basic standard. No matter what the sector, literacy and numeracy are critical."

Mr Ferguson backed moves to simplify the qualifications system.

He said: "The decision to drop the two national qualifications of Standard and Intermediate grade will, in the long run, make the system simpler for business to understand.

"There have been too many qualifications business has had to understand."