§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to implement the recommendation of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association for a review of the continuous assessment part of standard grade and higher examinations; what advice he has given to teachers in dealing with suspected plagiarism in internal assessment reports; and if he will make a statement. [40252]
§ Mr. Wilson[holding answer 30 April 1998]: Responsibility for the setting and marking of both standard grade and higher grade examinations rests with the Scottish Qualifications Authority. To ensure the quality and rigour of its qualifications, the authority works closely with experts in the education and training fields; it provides schools with clear guidance on internal assessment, including advice on suspected plagiarism; and it closely monitors assessment arrangements in schools.
Independent research has recently confirmed the successful maintenance of standards in higher grade examinations. In relation to standard grade examinations,
£ Year Dounreay Hunterston A Hunterston B Torness Chapelcross Year total 1995–96 65,223 22,048 1— 19,425 24,629 131,325 1996–97 175,297 18,791 65,554 37,095 24,016 320,753 Totals 240,520 40,839 65,554 56,520 48,645 452,078 1 Charges relating to Hunterston for 1995–96 were not site specific between A and B 462W
£ Year Dounreay Hunterston A Hunterston B Torness Chapelcross Year total 1989–90 326,817 179,412 303,481 452,218 427,341 1,689,269 1990–91 858,403 92,339 262,917 354,151 350,458 1,918,268 1991–92 732,124 134,135 484,053 382,480 376,212 2,109,004 1992–93 676,245 91,730 310,901 283,845 232,206 1,594,927 1993–94 427,784 182,368 334,895 453,121 292,288 1,690,456 1994–95 426,858 246,784 369,096 446,393 327,061 1,816,192 1995–96 566,086 305,263 604,169 530,251 344,368 2,350,137 1996–97 673,569 176,740 1,258,656 373,330 297,647 2,779,942 Totals 4,687,886 1,408,771 3,928,168 3,275,789 2,647,581 15,948,195 the Scottish Qualifications Authority decided, having consulted the teaching profession about the continuous assessment aspect and in order to address concerns about work load, that the investigating element should be withdrawn for some subjects from 1999.
These matters are kept under constant review, as befits their importance, and the Scottish Qualifications Authority will continue to take careful account of the views of the teaching profession in relation to future developments.