25th March 2021
In our submission to the Scottish Qualifications Authority consultation on the appeals system for 2021, we raise ongoing concerns about how young people and their families can be sure the system is fair and that unconscious bias does not influence teacher and school/centre assessments.
We call for a direct route of a appeal from young people to the SQA, should young people have any concerns in this regard. We also say no young person's grades should go down this year, as a result of an appeal, and that young people should be trusted to appeal when they have justification for doing so. We believe a school/centre-only assessment and appeal system - without an independent adjudicator - is not acceptable. We suggest alternatives to the SQA in this role (as well as the SQA) - perhaps local authority moderation, or school cluster moderation.
Read our full response here.