PARENTS and pupils have been reassured an algorithm won't be used to moderate results and Dunfermline's headteachers hope reform could spell the end of the "high stakes exam".

With no exams again this year due to the pandemic, there will be no repeat of last year when it emerged a school's past performance was taken into account when determining grades.

That sparked anger with pupils from more deprived areas marked down unfairly through no fault of their own, leading to a u-turn and apology from the Scottish Government.

Education manager Gordon Wardrope told the City of Dunfermline area committee: "I can absolutely give that reassurance there is no algorithm involved in producing the provisional results for pupils this year.

"It's based on demonstrated attainment with that key difference being the flexibility around how and when these assessments take place."

Councillor Jean Hall-Muir said she hoped changes to the exam system that had been forced upon schools due to the pandemic would prove beneficial in the long run and lead to reform.

She argued that looking at attainment across the year was a "much more accurate reflection of the body of work than a singular standardised test".

Queen Anne High rector Ruth McFarlane agreed and said: "All decisions have been made on a wide range of assessment; every learner has been given the very best chance and opportunity.

"We know the SQA have reduced the course content from previous years, so there's been less work to study, and we also know there have been glitches in terms of assessment materials in the public domain on platforms like Tik Tok.

"Because we're assessing in-class, our young people, particularly those with additional support needs, have been much better supported through the method of assessment this year than perhaps the big high-stakes exams of the past.

"I think we should be learning from that and hopefully we'll see some reform to assessment as a result."

She continued: "There have been lots of benefits for young people but in terms of the overall attainment and what that looks like, there needs to be an appreciation and we hope the public understand that the assessment this year is different from any previous assessment.

"Therefore, the results may also look different because previous years' assessments were based on exams and of course there are no exams this year so young people are not being tested on their ability to pass an exam. I think that's a very important point."

Woodmill headteacher Sandy McIntosh added: "It should be a range of assessment to capture the pupil's best work. We don't know all the circumstances for our young people.

"For example, having an assessment window, as we did a few weeks back, if you've got a young person who is self-isolating or a member of the family who is unwell or circumstances that are outwith their control, to weight everything around one assessment point would be fundamentally unfair.

"Our young people have been massively disadvantaged over the last year and a half.

"We've done very well to support them with the work we've produced but it would be naive to say there have not been some gaps."

He added: "We've had the flexibility to use the best evidence we've been able to get. We will be reporting to parents, the week commencing June 21, to share what those provisional grades are.

"Learner conversations are taking place with young people so they know what they're going to achieve and there are opportunities, right up to the submission date, where if there's anything we can do to increase by one or two per cent, there are opportunities for additional assessment points to take place to support the best outcomes for these young people.

"The moderation and assessment is very much pupil-centred and that's the way it should be."