The Scottish National Party (SNP) faces calls to apologize after recent exam results revealed a persistent attainment gap between pupils from the most and least deprived areas. Despite a slight narrowing in the last year, the gap remains wider than it was a decade ago, when the party promised to eradicate it.
Exam results released this week showed an increase in overall pass rates across National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher qualifications. For National 5, the A-C pass rate rose to 79.2 percent, from 78.4 percent last year. Higher pass rates increased to 76.7 percent from 75.9 percent, and Advanced Higher passes rose to 77.6 percent from 76.7 percent.
However, the disparity between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds remains a significant concern. The gap in A-C pass rates for National 5 was 15.6 percentage points, for Highers it was 15.9 percentage points, and for Advanced Highers it was 12.1 percentage points. While these figures represent a decrease from the previous year, they are still higher than in 2016. For instance, the National 5 gap was 16.4 percentage points last year, and the Higher gap was 16.8 percentage points.
Scottish Conservative education spokesman Meghan Gallacher stated that SNP ministers should not be complacent and that the results confirm a failure to support the country's poorest pupils. She called for Nicola Sturgeon and the current government to apologize for the slow progress in reducing the gap, which she described as a "betrayal."
Scottish Labour education spokesman Katherine Sangster acknowledged the hard work of students and teachers but emphasized that complacency is unwarranted. She noted that the attainment gap has widened since the SNP's initial promise a decade ago and called for more action to address inequalities that prevent children from reaching their full potential.
Andrea Bradley, general secretary of the EIS teaching union, welcomed the progress in narrowing the gap over the past year but described its persistence as a "huge concern." She urged for increased investment and a cap on class sizes to support efforts in tackling the poverty-related achievement gap.
Mairi McAllan, the current Education Secretary, described the results as "incredibly positive" and highlighted the narrowing of the attainment gap as "particularly pleasing." She credited the progress to the strength of Scotland's education system, the professionalism of educators, and the hard work of students. McAllan also mentioned investments in the Scottish Attainment Challenge, totaling £1.75 billion over the past decade. However, when asked in a BBC Radio Scotland interview when the gap would be fully closed, she was unable to provide a specific timeline.
Donna Stewart, Scotland’s Chief Qualifications and Examinations Officer, commended the learners for their achievements, noting the rise in attainment across all qualification levels and vocational qualifications.