The balance of assessment used for senior phase pupils in Scotland will change, with greater use of internal and continuous assessment to award final grades.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth announced the shift as part of the Scottish Government’s response to an Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment (IRQA), which was led by Professor Louise Hayward and published in June 2023.
In a statement to Parliament, Ms Gilruth confirmed that exams will remain part of the overall approach to assessment, including at National 5, while some more practical courses may not have written exams in future.
The Education Secretary committed to ensuring that qualifications reform is done in full partnership with teachers, pupils and other professional bodies, with a secondary Headteacher to be seconded to the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA), and its replacement Qualifications Scotland (QS), to oversee that.
Ms Gilruth also confirmed that she will set out a renewed national approach to improvement later this year, setting out short, medium and longer term improvements for Scottish education.