Nicola Sturgeon has hit back at claims that Scotland’s exam system is in chaos as Labour highlighted a drop in the number of pupils gaining qualifications in languages.
Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader, said the number of students passing the new National exam – which replaced standard grades – in French and German had dropped by more than 40%.
Ms Dugdale, who last week raised concerns about the Higher maths exam, called on the First Minister to “take her head out of the sand and clean up this mess”.
She told Ms Sturgeon that expert Dr James Scott had already raised fears about “some modern languages disappearing from our schools altogether”, with fewer pupils studying languages.
Ms Dugdale said: “Teachers and head teachers have warned ministers of chaos with the new exams, I have repeatedly raised problems with the new exams. Thousands of pupils have signed a petition telling ministers there is a problem with the new exams.”
The MSP raised the issue at First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood as the EIS teaching union gathered in Perth for its annual general meeting, with Ms Dugdale saying they were “deciding whether to boycott the new exams altogether”.
Ms Sturgeon told her: “I assume that wasn’t Kezia Dugdale endorsing a boycott of the new exams. I certainly hope she will clarify that matter.”
The SNP leader said: “There has been an issue raised, Kezia Dugdale raised it last week, an issue of concern with the Higher maths exam, the feeling on the part of many students that that exam was too difficult in terms of how they had been taught.
“I gave a lengthy and detailed explanation last week of how the Scottish Qualifications Authority deal with those situations to make sure no young person is disadvantaged because of that.
“But to make a leap from that, as Kezia Dugdale has just done, to describe the new exam system as being in chaos, I think is deeply, deeply irresponsible and does a great disservice to young people and teachers across our country who are working so hard for those exams.”
She said she would “study carefully” the statistics the Labour MSP had highlighted but added that Ms Dugdale had previously made an error when raising figures on exams.