NEARLY 13,000 pupils will learn today that they have failed their Higher English.
The number of passes is even lower than had been predicted and, of the 30,000 candidates who sat the key exam, more than a quarter scored 30% or below.
The Scottish Qualifications Authority last night revealed the Higher English pass-rate was only 59.2%, down more than 5% from last year's pre-appeal figure of 64.7%, and more than 13% down from the 2001 pass-rate of 72.4%.
The English exam was in contrast to the overall pass-rate for all Highers, only 0.1% down on last year at 69.6%.
In Higher maths, the pass-rate rose by 2.5% from 64.3% to 66.8%. In 2001, it was 69%.
Pass-rates at Standard Grade, Intermediate 1 and 2, and Advanced Higher, were all up.
Peter Peacock, education minister, said: ''The decline in Higher English needs to be balanced against the increasing pass rate for Higher maths and the overall increase in the number of passes.'' He added: ''I will consider carefully the report from the assessment panel for English which will review this year's differently structured exam. They will also consider how to further encourage presentation of candidates at appropriate exam levels.''
Many educational figures have blamed the new structure of the Higher English exam on the drop in both the pass-mark (down from 48% last year to 45% this year), and pass-rate.
The SQA and the Scottish Executive are already facing calls from teaching unions and educationists to rethink their decision to drop creative writing from the externally assessed part of the exam, saying that by dropping this element, the exam authority has deprived youngsters of the chance to show their ability in an essential area of literacy.
They also argue that the changes to the exam this year have disadvantaged borderline candidates.
However, it has emerged that both the SQA and the executive are under pressure to alter the ''fall-back award'' system, which means candidates who narrowly fail a subject at one level, say Higher, are automatically granted an A pass in the subject at the lower level, Intermediate 2.
The SQA highlighted its concern last year that too many pupils were being presented for exams at an inappropriate level for their ability. It is understood analysis of last year's results showed a surprisingly high number of candidates being awarded fall-back A awards.
Fiona Hyslop, shadow SNP education minister, said she was particularly concerned about the high number of candidates who had scored 30% or under in Higher English. She said pupils were being let down by a ''variety of things'', including the barrier being set too high. Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, Tory education spokesman, said: ''Pupils and parents need to be reassured that there has not been a fall in standards and that the exam itself is as rigorous as it always has been.''
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article