Worrying new analysis of Scotland's exam results in key subjects should concern us all

Education Secretary Mairi McAllan, centre, celebrates with students as they receive their exam results at Broughton High School (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell) | Getty Images

We live in a world in which both expertise and basic competence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – subjects known collectively as STEM as part of efforts to underline their importance – are becoming increasingly crucial to the economy.

So a new analysis of Scotland’s National 5 results – showing declines in the share of all pupils achieving pass marks in these core subjects since pre-pandemic times – should be a wake-up call about the continuing problems affecting Scottish education, not least discipline in the classroom.

The Commission on School Reform, the education arm of think tank Enlighten, found 39.7 per cent of pupils received an A-C grade in maths (down from 44.5 per cent in 2019); 26.2 per cent passed biology (29.4 per cent); and 21.3 per cent passed chemistry (25.1 per cent). The figures for physics, which fell from 20.1 to 17.9 per cent, and computer science, down from 9.3 to 8.8 per cent, were similarly concerning.

READ MORE: Why knowledge matters in Scottish schools, and the disaster of its loss

Highly skilled workforce

Carole Ford, a member of the commission and a former headteacher of Kilmarnock Academy, claimed there were “a generation of children whose outcomes have been suppressed because there is no national push towards academic excellence”. She also criticised the government for presenting exam data “as a success” by basing its figures on the pupils who sit the exams, rather than a share of all. “We must stop sweeping the realities of school performance under the carpet,” Ford added.

Scotland has long benefited from having a highly skilled workforce of the kind that attracts inward investment. However, with AI driving changes to the world of work at an ever-increasing pace, training the workforce of the future is becoming increasingly complicated.

READ MORE: Here are the 10 worst performing council areas for National 5 passes

This makes it all the more important to ensure children get the best possible start in life as they may well need to update their skills in later life. Without a solid basis, they will struggle.

Scotland’s so-called ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ needs to start living up to its name – or at least demonstrating it is fit for purpose. Otherwise, we will all pay a heavy price.