COVID-19 has had an impact on the Scottish education system not seen since world war 2 (Varkey Foundation, 2021). The exam fiasco of 2020 and the loss of learning across the country illustrates the lack of resilience in our education system. Our world is changing in many ways, and we need an education system that will change with it, to provide students with the skills and knowledge they need to be able to live and work in an uncertain environment.
The education system in Scotland was in no way prepared for an event like a global pandemic. The reliance on the SQA to provide qualifications through strict national examinations has caused national chaos (Carrel, 2020). Teachers' judgement has not been trusted, even though they are the very people who know a students performance level best, and this lead to unfair grade adjustments being made. Rightly this caused outrage when altered grades were released back in August 2020, and this year has not been much better. After being told exams were cancelled again, students have been constantly bombarded by tests. Some say that they are finding this new assessment regime more stressful than a full exam diet (Whyte, 2021). Something is clearly not right. In a changing climate and vulnerable world we need our education system to be resilient. To put the needs of our children and planet before any examinations. To be confident that even when the world is in chaos, education can carry on.
Other countries have coped better. Countries that use high levels of coursework, internal continuous assessment and trust in teacher judgement, such as France and Norway, have been less hard hit as often evidence of pupil performance already existed. This made it easier for teachers and the state to accurately estimate a pupil's grade. Many countries also prioritise skills such as independent study and research projects, which are useful during a period of isolation as students are able to carry on without constant assistance from a teacher (UNESCO, 2020). COVID-19 has shown that our education system needs improvement, as this could happen again. Another strain of the virus or a climate emergency could potentially close schools, but we must not let them close education.
As a trainee teacher, I believe that I should have more training in preparing for events like what we have seen. I believe that my judgment as a teacher should be listened to, and we shouldn’t have to rely on external agencies such as the SQA to grade our pupils if national examinations are cancelled. Looking at other countries I also question what we are teaching our pupils. Are we preparing them for any worldwide events like this in the future? I don’t think we are, I think we need to teach children how to be resilient, how to look after each other and the planet and essentially learn to carry on.
Carrell, S. (2020) Over 120,000 Scottish Exam Grades to be Reinstated After Row. The Guardian, 11 August. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/aug/11/over-100000-scottish-exam-grades-to-be-reinstated-after-row [Accessed: 28/05/21].
UNESCO (2020) COVID-19 A Glance of National Coping Strategies on High-Stakes Examinations and Assessment. Available: https://en.unesco.org/sites/default/files/unesco_review_of_high-stakes_exams_and_assessments_during_covid-19_en.pdf [Accessed: 28/05/21].
Varkey Foundation (2021) COVID-19 Represents Most Significant Challenge to Education Since WW2. Available: https://www.varkeyfoundation.org/opinion/covid-19-represents-most-significant-challenge-to-education-since-ww2 [Accessed: 28/05/21].
