Fall in Scottish pass rates prompts inquiry

The percentage of Scottish students passing Highers fell this year by more than 2% - prompting an inquiry ordered today by the education minister.

Cathy Jamieson said she felt "disappointment" at the drop and has demanded an urgent breakdown of the figures from the Scottish Qualifications Authority which runs the examination system north of the border. More than 137,000 certificates were due to be delivered across Scotland today.

The numbers of pupils completing the new Higher and Advanced Higher courses, equivalent to AS and A-levels and are assessed by a mixture of coursework and exams, rose substantially but the pass rate for both qualifications fell.

The authority said the decrease in the pass rate for Advanced Highers - taken after two years of sixth form study - was "not unusual" given that entries had more than doubled to 15,745. The pass rate fell from 74.5% to 71.7%

For Highers the pass rate fell from 71.9% to 69.7%, but the authority said the figure was comparable to the pass rates in 1998 and 1999, the last two years in which candidates were all sitting the same exams before the old-style Highers and Certificate of Sixth Year Studies began to be phased out. In 2000 and 2001, candidates were taking a mixture of old and new qualifications so the results were not directly comparable.

But faced with calls from Scottish National Party and Conservative politicians for action, Ms Jamieson said she had ordered "an inquiry with a small 'i'".

"Given the current situation, it would be wrong of me as a minister to be in any way complacent," she said.

The Scottish education minister welcomed the efficient delivery of the results by the authority and said it proved the body was now "back on track" after the fiasco of two years ago when around 6,000 youngsters received late or incorrect results.

But SNP shadow education minister Mike Russell said it was "a very serious situation" and called for a full inquiry. "I am worried that there might still be a problem in the schools. It may be that the courses being taught are not attuned to the exams being sat."

Scots Tory education spokesman Brian Monteith said he was concerned about the figures. "When we know the results in England later this week it could be that Scottish students are at a disadvantage to get university places."