This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Exam results show improvement
12/03/2002
Improvements in attainment levels at secondary school exams are recorded today in the publication of figures from the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
The results are set out by levels in the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) and cover the full range of national qualifications - Standard Grade, "old style" Higher, the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS) and the new National Qualifications at Access 3, Intermediate 1 and 2, Higher and Advanced Higher.
Deputy Education Minister Nicol Stephen said:
"I am pleased to note the six per cent increase in the number of entries for National Qualifications and that this has led to an increase in the number of passes, especially at Intermediate 2 and Standard Grade credit level.
"The introduction of the new National Qualifications has opened up additional opportunities to allow young people to reach their full potential in exams. The most encouraging results relate to the percentage of the S4 roll gaining five or more awards at SCQF level 5 - an increase since 1996/97 from 26% to 30% for males and 36% to 41% for females.
"These increases support the outcome of the recently published international study, Programme for International Student Assessment or PISA , in which Scotland's 15-year olds were in the top ten in all categories.
"We are not complacent and there is still a lot of hard work to be done. We are pursuing a range of polices aimed at raising attainment and improving opportunities for all young people in Scotland. We will continue to work with the SQA and teachers to improve the system of national qualifications. We are determined to ensure that school performance both formal and informal continues to improve year on year."
The National Statistics publication "SQA Attainment in Scottish Schools: 2000-2001" is in a new style providing information on the attainment of pupils at Scottish secondary schools in National Qualifications.
The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework levels in relation to National Qualifications are as follows:
- Level 7 CSYS at A-C, Advanced Higher at A-C
- Level 6 Higher at A-C
- Level 5 Intermediate 2 at A-C, Standard Grade at 1-2
- Level 4 Intermediate 1 at A-C, Standard Grade at 3-4
- Level 3 Access 3 Cluster, Standard Grade at 5-6
The data for 2001 is post appeal.
National Priorities are part of the improvement framework set out under the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Act 2000. The present National Priorities are defined under the following headings: Achievement and Attainment; Framework for Learning; Inclusion and Equality; Values and Citizenship; Learning for Life.
SQA Attainment in Scottish Schools: 2000-01
MAIN FINDINGS
All Exam Qualification Passes by gender and SCQF level including type of exam, (all pupil stages combined): 1995-96 to 2000-01.
- Indicates the take-up of the new National Qualifications since their introduction in 1999-00. They account for an increasing proportion of attainment at each level, for example - Intermediate 2 accounted for 10% of exams attained at Level 5 in 2000, rising to 16% in 2001.
- Advanced Highers now account for more than 45% of Level 7 qualifications attained this year. With exceptions within English, CSYS will be phased out completely next year.
- The gender distribution of exam entries in 2001 was 49% Male, 51% Female. The higher proportion of females sitting exams was reflected in passes (excepting the lower levels - females accounted for 42% of level 3 and 47% of level 4 passes.)
Special Schools - Qualification Passes by SCQF Level & gender (for all stages): 1998-99 to 2000-01.
- An increasing amount of exams are being taken. The overall pass rate in 2001 is 91.2% - higher than in previous years.
- The new National Qualifications (Access, Intermediate, Advanced Higher) have again been taken up well -forming 11.7% of Level 3 passes, 3.6% of Level 4 and 32% of Level 5 passes. Standard grade examination are currently the most common type of qualification being attained
- 69% of all exam attainment in the last 2 years was by male pupils, the same gender proportion as for total presentations This reflects the larger proportion of males in the school roll.
Pupil SCQF Attainment for each school sector by stage: 2000-01 (Also given as percentage of S4 roll)
- Higher proportions of S4 pupils in Independent schools taking Scottish qualifications went on to gain greater attainments in S4, S5 and S6 than pupils at publicly funded schools.
Pupil SCQF Attainment by gender for S4, S5, S6: 1996-97 to 2000-01.
- The majority of Level 3, 4 and 5 attainment in each year is gained by Stage 4 pupils. More pupils in S5 & S6 are attaining level 4 & 5 qualifications - this may be due to the increasing amount of Intermediate qualifications being gained. Level 6 attainment is mostly achieved by pupils in S5 & S6. Level 7 attainment is mainly by S6 pupils.
- Year on year there has been fluctuations in the percentage of pupils reaching different levels of attainment. For example, S4 attaining more than 3 passes at Level 5 changed from 26% to 30% for males and 36% to 41% for females since 1996.
- For S5, the percentage of S4 gaining more than one pass at Level 6 fell to 36% of males and 46% of females in 2001 but percentages gaining 3 or more passes at this Level were unchanged from the previous year. For S6 percentage changes varied on gender and level.
Subject Attainment at SCQF Levels 3, 4 & 5, by gender: 2000-01.
- Females showed a slightly higher pass rate for these exams (93.4%) than males (92.3%). Altogether there were more entries by male pupils than female.
- Males attained more of the passes at Levels 3 & 4 - however at Level 5 the greater proportion were passes by females
- English followed by Mathematics, French then Biology were the most popular subjects.
Comparisons of Secondary School Sector for subjects at Levels 3, 4 & 5 (All stages): 2000-01.
- Of the 2000-01 secondary school exam entries, within SCQF levels 3-5, 96.2% of pupils were from publicly funded schools (including grant-aided) and 3.8% from Independent.
- This overall proportion varied according to subject: Examples include - Independent pupils accounting for 30.4% of entries to Economics, 37.2% of Latin, 8.8% of Spanish whilst only 0.5% of Administration entries, 0.6% Home Economics and 1.5% Graphic Communication.
- Independent schools maintain a higher pass rate in all subjects at these levels.
Subject Attainment at Level 6, by award and gender for stage 5 & 6 pupils: 2000-01.
- The average pass rate for an A-C award at level 6 was greater for females (77.0%) than males (72.3%). The greater percentage of female passes was seen in most subjects (exceptions included Computing, PE, Admin, Economics)
- At SCQF Level 6 there was a greater proportion of female entries (54.4%) than male (45.6%).
- English was the most popular exam taken by both genders at level 6. For boys this was followed by Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Geography. For girls - by Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Art & Design.
Subject Attainment at Level 7: CSYS & Advanced Highers by gender for S6 Pupils: 2000-01
- The most popular subjects at Level 7 were Mathematics followed by Physics and Chemistry for boys. For girls Mathematics was followed by English and Biology.
- The overall pass rate of 14,275 entries was 78%.
- There was a higher female pass rate (82%) compared to male (74%). This was shown in all subjects with the exception of Spanish and Economics.