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BBC News: Higher exams to be cancelled for Scottish pupils

BBC News – Higher exams to be cancelled for Scottish pupils https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-55230774

At last, the decision we were expecting. In my case, my students would have been ready for the exams in summer but another covid case causing students to lose 2 more weeks would change that in an instant.

I think this is a good decision and is better to have been made now rather than in February but would have allowed us to better organise arrangements if it had been made in October.

I’d really like this to signal the start of the end of formal exams as the main method of qualification and allow us to move down a more balanced mix of coursework, extended supervised assignments, on-line tests and traditional exams. A hybrid that allows students to demonstrate their skills across a range of assessments and doesn’t disadvantage those who really struggle with exams despite having solid knowledge, understanding and skills. There’s a whole lot of people out there who have been labelled failures simply because their style of learning doesn’t allow them to pass exams.