Hansard

To avoid the need for any further points of order to be made, I apologise in advance to both my Opposition colleagues for the fact that they received the statement later than would normally be the case. I am conscious that that was discourteous of me, given their support for our efforts to resolve the difficulties in our examination system.

I am pleased to have an opportunity this afternoon to make a statement about progress towards the 2001 examination diet. The statement is timely: the Easter holidays are approaching and young people across the country are preparing to do some hard revision for this year's exams.

I am sure that everyone in the Parliament can remember the mixture of anticipation and anxiety that characterised their schooldays. Our discussion this afternoon will range across a number of detailed areas, but it is important that none of us loses sight of what really matters here, which is for us to give young people the exam system that they deserve. At this testing time, we need to build confidence and allow our young people to concentrate on their studies.

Members of Parliament will be relieved to hear that I do not rely only on my own fading memories of the joys of exams. One of the most important parts of my job is to get out and visit schools around Scotland to hear what young people think. Today, in the public gallery, I am delighted to see some familiar faces from St Columba's High School, Gourock. Pupils from that school made me very welcome when I visited them recently. It is good to see them here today and I hope that they will be reassured to hear of the importance that all of us in the Scottish Parliament attach to getting the exams right.

The exam diet comprises many distinct tasks: registering candidates and their subjects; preparing exam papers; and marking assessments and exams. A successful exam diet is achieved by getting all those things right. This afternoon, I want to note the action that ministers have put in place for a successful exam diet. I will describe some of the detailed work that has been done and set out what has been achieved. I will also set out some areas where more work is needed and describe the action that is being taken in those areas. I will be happy to take questions at the end of the statement.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority is at the heart of the exam diet, but I want to acknowledge the essential contribution that other stakeholders—in particular, teachers and local authorities—must make. The SQA cannot deliver a successful diet without professional assistance and co-operation from others. Everyone who is involved in the exams system must realise that it is not only the SQA that has a duty to ensure that this year's exams and results are delivered successfully.

We need to consider the 2001 exams holistically. That requires organisations to look beyond their own boundaries and to see the bigger picture. I welcome the appointment of SQA account managers and SQA co-ordinators in schools. The people in those posts have already made a significant contribution to a co-ordinated understanding of the processes that are involved in the 2001 exams, of individual roles and responsibilities and of how individual tasks contribute to the overall diet. We need to build on that work. My task is to ensure that everyone knows what they have to do and that they are ready and able to contribute and work together effectively to deliver the exam diet.

We must all continue to work together to ensure that the diet is a success for Scotland's young people. The parliamentary parties have united to rebuild confidence and monitor progress. This is not the time for any organisation or group to chase headlines and pursue personal agendas. Such issues are petty compared to the needs of our young people. It is vital that everyone contributes positively. Scotland has long been proud of its education system, but last year's exams chaos knocked its self-belief. I urge everyone in Scottish education to put the interests of our young people first and to pull together to make Scotland's exam system again one that we can all be proud of.

In the aftermath of last year's difficulties, we commissioned Deloitte & Touche to carry out an independent review of the crisis. A new chief executive, Bill Morton, was brought in and we appointed John Ward as the new chair of the board.

Following the publication of Deloitte & Touche's report in November 2000, we took a further series of measures. We established a ministerial review group, chaired by Nicol Stephen, put in place more effective reporting arrangements between the SQA and the Executive and funded a 50 per cent increase in fees for markers and other appointees.

There is now regular communication between my department and the SQA. The ministerial review group meets monthly. I meet the chair and the chief executive of the SQA regularly and there are weekly meetings—at least—at official level. Through the ministerial review group, for example, the Executive has also worked with the wider education community to identify potential problems for the 2001 exam diet and to generate confidence in that diet among candidates, their families, teachers and other key stakeholders.

We have performed an independent appeals review of the diet 2000 results, which resulted in an important upgrade for over 300 students. However, in more than 90 per cent of cases, the independent teams have confirmed the results of the original appeals. While I know that that is disappointing for individual students, it should give us all confidence in the appeals system.

We have provided the SQA with £3 million to sort out last year's problems and we are investing to build the SQA's capacity to deliver high-calibre exams in 2001 and beyond. Part of that investment has gone to fund the 50 per cent increase in markers' fees. The SQA has also reorganised its staffing; it will, for example, put in place 50 trained people to staff its helpdesk this summer. We are investing in getting the systems right.

Ministers are taking action to establish a clear basis on which the SQA's performance in diet 2001 will be judged. We will agree with the SQA the performance measures for diet 2001. We expect the SQA to deliver in three core areas: the timeliness of results; the completeness and accuracy of results; and, where problems arise, prompt and efficient action to resolve them. Those measures will provide a clear statement to all stakeholders and, more important, to students and their parents on key performance issues. They will provide a yardstick for the SQA's achievements.

I have described what has been done to put in place the framework for diet 2001. I now want to address the components of the diet.

We have commissioned Deloitte & Touche to provide assistance to the SQA on detailed project planning for diet 2001. The SQA's internal auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, will validate and report on progress against those plans. While there is, rightly, a good deal of external interest in the SQA's progress, we should not lose sight of the role and responsibilities of the SQA's board. The board has put in place arrangements to enable it to monitor progress at a detailed level. I welcome that.

The SQA does not operate in isolation; it must share information about key dates with its partners in education and about its progress with those partners and other stakeholders. That is a positive step, which will ensure that all players understand how diet 2001 will be achieved and will provide assurance about progress towards the summer's exams.

Another welcome step that the SQA has taken is to second a deputy head teacher from Glasgow to its senior management team. That will provide the SQA with first-hand experience of the diet from a school's perspective. The individual will continue to spend two and a half days a week in school. The secondment will give an insight into the issues that matter to schools and how they can be addressed proactively. I know that the SQA aims to match that with a similar secondment from the further education sector.

On 14 March, I reported to Parliament on the SQA's progress. As I noted then, progress has been good on the range of issues that contribute to diet 2001. For example, all schools have submitted registration data; 98 per cent of exam papers have been sent to the printers—that is a solid achievement and contrasts well with last year, when less than 80 per cent of exam papers had been sent to the printers at this stage; and centres that have not acquired approval for subjects have been identified and are working with the SQA to reach a resolution. There is now a much clearer picture of what must be done and the SQA has gone a long way to resolving the critical issues. However, there is no room for complacency. A considerable amount of critical work remains to be completed to ensure the successful delivery of the diet.

This year, the SQA has built in checking procedures, so that any data errors can be identified and corrected early in the process. That is a welcome development. It is also important that everyone, including the young people who face exams this summer, is assured that errors that are identified now will be addressed well before certification.

One important process that is happening now is the entering of details of candidates' subjects into the results database. This year, unlike last year, the SQA is sending back to schools reports that identify errors in the database. There will be a final sign-off of the data in April. Those positive steps are a significant development on last year's procedures. Again though, we are not complacent. For example, I know that the existence of errors in the checking reports has caused some concern to schools. In response, I have asked the SQA to provide clearer information and advice to schools to explain and resolve any errors. The SQA has told me that most of the errors pose no difficulties for the examinations process and that the remainder can be dealt with in good time. I have asked the SQA to give that message equally clearly to its school partners.

The ministerial review group, which we established to act as an early warning system and to monitor progress, has highlighted a particular concern with regard to the recruitment of markers. The SQA has estimated that it will require 8,000 markers. A 10 per cent contingency means that its recruitment target is up to 8,800. By yesterday, the SQA had confirmed 6,632 appointments and had issued a further 1,637 invitations. For the remainder, the SQA is actively reviewing its pool of reserves and recent applications. Those outstanding appointments are not spread evenly across the range of subjects and the SQA has identified subjects for targeted action. They include French, English in particular, and business-related subjects. That is a challenge, but we should all remember that, last year, the SQA was still recruiting markers in June.

The SQA has asked local authorities to help with the recruitment of markers. I especially welcome the constructive response by the Educational Institute of Scotland and, this week, by the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association in publicising the need for markers among their members. That is a good example of the co-operative working that is required to achieve a successful exam diet. The review group will continue to monitor progress and, if necessary, will identify further action to be taken on markers. The group includes representatives from a wide range of education interests, so it is well placed to analyse issues such as marker recruitment and to help to produce results.

We have listened to concerns about the certificate and the ministerial review group has considered how it might be redesigned. I want to thank, in particular, the student members of that group for their insights and contributions to the work. The proposed changes—a new summary certificate for courses achieved during the exam diet, which will be right at the front of the package, and the placing of the core skills profile in a supplementary information section at the back of the certificate—will make the certificate easier to use.

We have been pressing the SQA to introduce those changes for this summer. The SQA has agreed to the changes in principle and is checking that the new certificate can be delivered without compromising the exam diet 2001. It will announce details of this summer's certificate very shortly. This summer, the SQA will provide new guidance to candidates that will clearly explain the layout of the certificate, no matter what the final design may be.

The ministerial review group is also looking further ahead to the critical days leading up to the delivery of certificates to candidates. We have asked the group to consider that period in detail, taking account of the requirements of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, schools, colleges and pupils.

I have described the role that the ministerial review group is playing in monitoring progress and identifying concerns about diet 2001. Last week, we launched an exam 2001 hotline, which will allow teachers, parents and pupils to flag up concerns and will act as an extension of the early warning function of the ministerial review group. I will take a very close interest in the issues that emerge from that hotline.

Today I have set out the progress that has been made towards the exam 2001 diet. I have described the framework that the Executive has put in place; the progress that has been made on components of the diet; the areas that have given rise to concern; and the action that is being taken to resolve those issues.

There are four months to go before the exam results land on doormats and little more than four weeks before the exams get under way. A lot of work on diet 2001 lies ahead. Although the SQA has a central role, its partners throughout Scottish education also have a critical contribution to make. We need to work together on the real objectives to give young people the exam system that they deserve and to build their confidence at this crucial time in their lives to allow them to concentrate on preparing for their exams.

Since last autumn, the education and political community in Scotland has rallied to put those young people first. The process is not pain free or straightforward, but it is making a difference. We can be confident that preparations are well ahead for this year, but we cannot be complacent. By checking, monitoring, reporting—and, indeed, by correcting errors—week after week, we can succeed in that challenge together.