Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton Constituency, has called on the Scottish Government to fix the chaos and uncertainty that it has caused in the discussion regarding replacing National 5 testing with continuous assessment. She has said that schools need a straight answer after months of uncertainty and confusion about the future of examinations.

Jackie Baillie has previously called for focus to be on ensuring that Scotland’s attainment gap does not widen further because of the effect that Covid-19 has had on learning.

Jackie Baillie MSP said:

“After months of huge uncertainty and stress, parents, pupils and teachers deserve answers on what the future of their learning and teaching will look like.

“The current chaos in Scotland’s schools due to the Scottish Government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis risks making the already serious attainment gap worse, and we can’t afford more chaos and confusion around National 5 exams.

“Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are disproportionately more likely to leave after sitting their National 5s. The decisions taken by ministers now could seriously affect not just the credibility of National 5 qualifications, but also the employment prospects of those sitting them.”