Pass charge falls for Highers but rises for National 5s

Pass fees have fallen for Highers but risen for National five qualifications as Scottish college students receive their examination results. More than 133,000 applicants were locating their consequences on Tuesday, with 60,000 of them mastering their grades through textual content and/or email. The Scottish Qualifications Authority has additionally discovered the general pass prices for publications and qualifications.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the every year version becomes “expected.”

An overall of 185,914 scholars sat Higher assessments this year. Of them, 138,972 (seventy-four. 8%) accomplished an A to C pass markdown from seventy-six.Eight% in 2018. The variety of college students sitting in Advanced Highers decreased from 24,331 to 23,460, and the pass fee fell from eighty.5% to 79—Four% over the last year. Pass quotes additionally fell among folks who studied for National 2, National three, and National 4 qualifications. Among the 288,552 college students who sat National five assessments, the skip rate rose from seventy-seven—four% remaining year to 78.2% in 2019.

There changed into a four.Four% increase in passes for English and a 1.3% rise in passes for Maths at National five. Skills Development Scotland (SDS) runs a helpline to provide information for college students, parents, and carers. It might be open from 08:00 to twenty:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday, then from 09:00 until 17:00 on weekdays till 14 August. It may be contacted on 0808 100 8000. Many of the queries tend to be from young folks who didn’t meet their conditional offers from universities. However, the helpline also can provide advice to those whose marks have been better than predicted.

A variety of online exam recommendations is likewise available on the BBC’s Bitesize pages.

Children’s charity Childline additionally has counselors to assist scholars who’re concerned approximately their grades.

Advice and guide as college students get exam effects

SQA chief govt Fiona Robertson said the body was encouraged using scholars achieving thru a “wide variety” of routes. She added: “I would like to congratulate every candidate who acquired outcomes today. “Qualifications play an essential position in permitting younger human beings to pursue their pursuits, whether that be persevered schooling and education or entering into employment.

Mr. Swinney also welcomed the “robust set of consequences.”

He said: “I am pleased to peer a basic rise in the bypass charge for National five with increases in passes for maths and English. At the Higher degree, we’ve got seen a welcome upturn in the collective wide variety of passes for the sciences – something we’ve got targeted our efforts on for some time. “Our learners now have a far wider range of preference than ever before, permitting them to find the course into employment or in addition schooling that is proper for them.

“This 12 months, for the first time, we noticed the elimination of unit checks at a Higher degree, a move that changed into broadly supported via the schooling area. If the bypass price only ever went up, human beings might rightly query the robustness of our evaluation device. “We need to retain to ensure instructors have the proper help in the vicinity to help them offer excellent studying and coaching stories for our young human beings.”Analysis using Jamie McIvor, BBC Scotland schooling correspondent The fall within the Higher bypass fee deserves investigation. Still, at this level, care is needed to keep away from presuming reason and effect. In current years, the Higher skip rate has commonly been around seventy-seven % and unavoidably the figures range. There have been small declines in 2017 and 2018 – that can nearly be counted as marginal – but the 2% fall this year is obviously larger. Experts will want to ensure that any contributory elements are nicely explored and understood. The SQA tries to make certain requirements are consistent so that it is unlikely to check to turn into greater hard approximately.