Pupils complain about higher maths exam

"EXAMS bosses yesterday said no pupils will be disadvantaged after thousands of candidates complained about an "impossible" Higher maths paper. The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) said the marking would take into consideration whether the exam was harder than intended."

"Some pupils were said to have been reduced to tears by questions in the exam, which took place on Wednesday. More than 13,000 people have signed two online petitions urging the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to take into account the difficulty of the exam when marking papers."

"The knock-on effect is fear of subsequent exams and the possibility of not gaining access to the university course they have worked so hard for."

"For the first time this year children had the option of sitting the new Higher but many schools opted to continue teaching the original Higher syllabus. But pupils sitting both exams were shocked by the levels of difficulty when they saw the paper on Wednesday."

"One pupil wrote: "I personally sat the New higher math exam and it was dreadful. From extremely wordy questions containing an array of jungle animals from toads, frogs, crocodiles and zebras to un-clearly asked questions or over-complicated questions this exam was almost as if it was intended to be impossible." [ I suppose this was about literacy across the curriculum (!) but it was hardly `inclusive` or `achieving` as far as the wellbeing indicators go, if pupils were not adequately prepared for the exam.]

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/more-13000-sign-petition-after-5742824

From Tes

"The Higher exam diet should have been something like the icing on the CfE cake and a rewarding experience for candidates. Instead, if the Higher Maths Exam was anything to go by, it appears to be turning into the nightmare that the teaching profession has been warning of for years."

"We know for sure that the SQA will cover up the mess - they have a track record. Remember, don't mention the 'F' word - FIASCO. And of course there is no MacOfQual to hold them to account."

"Many pupils are going to feel now that they have wasted their time in school - through no fault of their own. What an indictment on the performance of our Education system!!! "

Posted 24 May 2015

https://community.tes.co.uk/tes_scotland_opinion/f/51/t/716856.aspx?pi2132219857=2