Pupils have complained they were left fearing for their futures after sitting a Higher maths exam which was ‘totally unrecognisable’ from what they had prepared for in class.
More than 11,000 people have signed a petition calling for a review of the exam, which states it was ‘poorly worded, inconsistently structured, and out of step with every previous paper’.
One of the main complaints is that some ‘command words’ – the words that indicate how you should answer the question – were different to what pupils had been taught to expect, so they did not know what was being asked.
About 20,000 pupils sat the Higher maths exam last year. The Higher exams are the equivalent of GCSEs in England and Wales.
It is the first year of exams under Qualifications Scotland, which replaced the controversial Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) earlier this year.
The SQA was disbanded following criticism from teachers and politicians, partly over how it handled exam grading during the Covid pandemic – and in part for its handling of the 2024 Higher history exam paper.
Last week’s maths exam was split into two papers and both have caused problems for pupils – though the petition only complains about paper one.
One S5 pupil in Aberdeen (equivalent to Year 11 in England and Wales), who hopes to study medicine, told the BBC she was worried about her chances of being accepted if she does not get a top maths grade.
A petition signed by 11,000 pupils states the maths exam was ‘poorly worded, inconsistently structured, and out of step with every previous paper’
She said she felt ‘well-prepared’ ahead of the exam – having done four years’ worth of past papers – and had got an A in her prelim.
But she said: ‘It was so different to what I’d done before.’
Heading into the second exam paper, the pupil said she was stressed because of how badly the first paper had gone.
Another S5 pupil, based in Lanarkshire, said the language was ‘totally unrecognisable’ from what he had seen before.
He had hoped to go on to study electrical engineering or law but is now worried he might not make the grade.
‘I was extremely stressed, it’s potentially a future-altering exam,’ he said. ‘There were people in tears coming out that paper.’
The EIS teaching union has asked its maths teachers network about the paper and the initial feedback is that the exam was fair.
A Qualifications Scotland spokesman said: ‘All exam papers are created and checked by experienced subject teachers, including the principal assessors, to make sure they are clear, fair and suitable for learners.’
The Scottish Government said decisions over exams and question papers are an ‘operational matter for Qualifications Scotland’.
