THE attainment gap between poor and well-off students in Scotland has widened since last year, but remains narrower than in 2019. 

Figures from the Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) today showed that the gap at Higher level between the poorest and most privileged areas in the country grew from 7.8 percentage points in 2021 to 15 in 2022. 

But the attainment gap narrowed from 2019 — the last time students sat exams in Scotland — at Highers, National Fives and Advanced Higher levels. 

Exams were suspended during the pandemic with grades determined by teacher assessment and coursework instead. The SQA said that this makes it difficult to compare attainment over this period. 

Pass rates also dropped significantly compared with record high levels seen during the pandemic.

Responding to the figures, the Educational Institute of Scotland  said that an alternative form of assessment would help to close the attainment gap. 

The union’s general secretary Andrea Bradley said an alternative form that is “much less reliant on one-off high stakes exams, much more learner-centred and that has teacher professional judgement at the heart of it, could help to deliver more strongly equitable outcomes for learners undertaking formal qualifications.”