LJS

I know it's tough for both of us to take, Neil but I don't think we disagree hugely on this. You attach a bit more culpability to the SNP than I do but that's just the way it goes really.

No one has any idea what "the electorate" thinks. We know what some disgruntled kids think. We know what all opposition parties think. And we know what the Scottish media thinks. Although none of them have managed to come up with an alternative that doesn't result in grossly inflating the overall results. As the SNP are a minority government, they can't just do as they please. Not at all. I can't and they haven't which is what I've been saying from the outset. The SNP would have been slaughtered if they had gone with the teachers' ratings unmoderated from the outset. No idea. But the idea that large numbers of students being disappointed when they receive their results is something unusual is somewhat bizarre.

Do you really seriously think we have ended up with a good outcome after all this?

Lucky for him Scotland's results come out first eh?

Sounds like a U turn to me. I take it he should resign?

Indeed. Everyone is very quick to criticise but slow to come up with an alternative other than just letting the teachers' ratings stand which clearly has issues of its own. I think it is absolutely certain that had the Scottish government let the teachers' assessments stand at the outset, they would have faced a storm of protest for "fiddling" the figures. It will be interesting to watch how it goes on the rest of the UK. I'm sure there are plenty of people scrabbling about trying to work out how to avoid what has happened in Scotland.

Agree with this. I think all the politicians who have campaigned for this outcome should be made to sign a pledge that when next year's results are published, they won't scream in outrage at the inevitable huge jump in the attainment gap.

Same problems coming down your way, Zahidf. Nearly 40% of A-level result predictions to be downgraded in England Exclusive: Assessments likely to be adjusted down before students receive results – analysis https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/aug/07/a-level-result-predictions-to-be-downgraded-england

Oh right - so this massive injustice can be solved by only fixing it for a few.? Wow! you really believe that? The SQA compared the results with previous results from the same schools and adjusted accordingly. If they hadn't done this it would have shown a huge & highly improbable jump in results from pupils in the least advantaged areas. You keep ignoring this point. I'm sure we would both love to see such an amazing improvement in results from these kids - but its not credible. and you know perfectly well that if the results had been left to stand the SNP government would be getting ripped to shreds for fiddling the figures. They have given an explanation. However, as I have already said, I think we need to use this as an opportunity to look at whether the current exam based system we have is the best way to assess pupils. and if you really believe what you have just said, you should be in favour of scrapping exams in the future. you keep saying this. I keep asking you why. You keep avoiding the question. How do you set an exam for pupils who have missed months of schooling? How do you account for the different home schooling experiences that kids have had. And if we are concerned about the least advantaged, as i have no doubt both of us are, how do we deal with the fact that , on average, being out of school will have had a greater impact on them than on the better off kids? From the SQA website... "For 2020, we're offering a free appeals (post-certification review) service for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses. Your school or college can use this service to request a review of your grade, if the grade you have been awarded is lower than the estimate grade your school or college submitted to us, and they have evidence to show that you were performing at the level of your estimate grade." So if the school can provide evidence to back up the teachers' rating, then it can be changed. How this works in practice, of course remains to be seen - bit I fail to see how you could object to this. I have answered this on several occasions (because i generally try and answer questions & not just link to tweets) but you just ignore that so, I popped your question into Mr Google this is the first result I got https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-anger-over-scottish-exam-grades-likely-to-be-repeated-across-the-uk Interestingly this says that a pretty similar system will be used in England, Wales & Northern Ireland. Tiresomely, I will repeat that I would be absolutely fucking delighted if we could suddenly achieve a massive narrowing of the attainment gap by improving the performance of kids from deprived areas. I don't believe that has miraculously happened overnight in Scotland. Do you?

You have answered a question I didn't ask. And ignored the 3 questions I did ask. Have u ever considered becoming a Tory politician?

I'm loving how you keep posting links to other people who have lots to say but have little to say yourself. I'll ask you again: should the results have been left to stand unmoderated? And if so how would you account for the sudden and unprecedented narrowing of the attainment gap & what do you think the reaction to that would have been? Why do you think offering a "resit" is fairer than allowing an appeal? Remember those getting a resit will have missed months of schooling - how do you allow for that? I'd love you to try and answer these questions with your very own words not a barrage of someone else's tweets.

I don't know why. I also don't know if it's fairer for kids who have missed months of school. The ones who are complaining that the result doesn't match their course work should have a decent chance of succeeding on appeal. I'll say again, there was no perfect way of doing this.

I shall say it again. Any situation where you replace exams with assessments without the ability to plan for it, will throw up inconsistencies and lead to some people being unhappy. I'll guarantee now that when the English results are published there will similarly be unhappy people. Can I just check, Zahidf, what you think should have been done. Unmoderated, the results would have shown a pass rate increasing from 65% to 85% for the last priveleged pupils. That is simply not credible. I really and truly wish it was. But it just ain't. If they had left them, they would have been crucified by the media and their opponents for fiddling the figures. . Inevitable some kids will have been unfairly treated in this process. I hope the appeals process works for these kids. In no way am I saying the system we have used here is perfect. I don't think there is a perfect way to deal with the situation we found ourselves in.

So, having failed to address any of the points I have made, you link to someone who says its fairer if you do not have the right to appeal a grade that you feel is unfair. The truth is that, in the absence of exams there is no way to award grades that everyone will agree is fair. In Scotland you have the right to appeal .. in England you have the right to resit. I think both approaches have merits, You appear to have decided that one "seems" to be fairer than the other. Please explain why.

Are you sure this isn't the Eurovision results?