SQA admits maths exam was too difficult

After the exam in May, thousands of students complained about the difficulty of the test, taking to social media to air their frustrations.

Schools in Scotland this year were given the option of introducing the new Higher or keeping with the old qualification, with a nationwide roll out of the new Higher commencing in September.

The new Highers were  designed to fit in with broader changes in education in recent recent years, but SQA have admitted that the assessment proved more demanding than intended. The exam body have assured students that grade boundaries have been reduced, meaning that candidates will still get the grade they deserve despite the apparent difficulty of the test.

Education Secretary Angela Constance told the BBC that checks and balances have been out in place to make sure that not pupil has been disadvantaghed by the ‘unusually hard’ exam.

She added: "Despite the concerns it is clear that the qualification system has worked and if changes are needed going forward I can assure you that they certainly will be made.

"I appreciate that there was a lot of activity on social media and a lot of people expressing their concerns but irrespective of these concerns, the SQA have these well established processes that first and foremost test the performance of the examine every year."

Read more