Teachers hit out at SQA study support published by mistake

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has been forced to admit it published exam support materials for students by mistake last night.

It said that this "this should not have happened" and that the mistake means the support materials have not been "communicated and shared in a way that learners and teachers have a right to expect".

Publication of the materials last night follows the announcement on 1 February that the "scenario 2" contingency for assessment this year had been invoked and that a "substantial package of additional support" would be provided because of the "disruption to learning and teaching" caused by the Omicron variant.

Teachers and students were told that the extra support would differ depending on the subject. For some subjects, the SQA said, students would be given advance warning of what would - and what would not -be assessed in the exam. For other subjects, the SQA said the support would entail study notes that could be taken into the exam or the provision of study guides.  

However, the initial reaction from many teachers to the study guides been scathing.

Angry and frustrated teachers from a wide range of subjects - including home economics, technological studies, geography, physics and modern studies - took to social media last night to hit out at the "patronising" documents, saying that they added nothing and that the advice they contained would already have been meted out "by thousands of teachers to prepare students for exams".

I am feeling so deflated. I'm trying to laugh rather than cry but I'm angry. We have waited months for this patronising document that does nothing already done by thousands of teachers to prepare students for exams. This year I'm the ONLY one that's attended 100% of the lessons.

— The Home Ec Teacher (@MrsRichards_HEc) March 7, 2022

A chemistry teacher, also responding on social networking site Twitter, said the guides would only help if students "haven't listened to a word their teacher has said all year" and that they are "the equivalent of asking them to bring a pen, ruler and a calculator".

A modern studies teacher said the revision guide for National 5 in his subject was "embarrassing" given students had suffered two years of disruption to their learning.

A physics teacher, meanwhile, said: "Ok, on a scale of 0-10, when 10 was a massively helpful document...and 0 was the least helpful document I imagined getting, the SQA support document for Physics is -3. There is *nothing* in it which is of use. NOTHING."

Ok, on a scale of 0-10, when 10 was a massively helpful document with swathes of perfectly worded definitions and examples, and 0 was the least helpful document I imagined getting, the SQA support document for Physics is -3.There is *nothing* in it which is of use.NOTHING.

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