Exam results: Attainment gap progress is a black mark for Scottish Government

Progress is often achieved by means of small steps. On the closing of the attainment gap, the step taken this year could hardly be smaller.

For Higher results, the difference in the attainment of A grades between pupils from the most deprived and least deprived communities is 22 percentage points (pp) this year. What was it last year? It was 22.1pp.

The picture is similar for all passes from A-C at Higher level, going from a difference of 17.2 percentage points between richest and poorest last year to 17.2pp this year.

For National 5s, the improvement for A to C grade achievement is more marked and has seen a change from 17.2pp to 16.6pp over the period.

But at A grade, we’re back to the most fractional of changes – a gap of 27.6pp last year has improved to 27.5pp.

And so the needle has barely moved.

Ministers could point out better results for Advanced Highers, in which the gulf at A-C level has shrunk from 15.5pp to 12.8pp, year-on-year. But this is the least commonly taken qualification level of the three, and so while that larger decrease may be a source of pride for education leaders, it is regrettable that it was not replicated across the board.

And education leaders have proudly declared that “the poverty-related attainment gap is closing at all levels”. That’s a quote from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), while education secretary Jenny Gilruth has hailed the picture as “encouraging”. “While there is more to do, each success of every young person from the most disadvantaged areas creates a route out of poverty,” the former teacher said.

In this, Gilruth could not be more correct – education is a powerful tool to uplift, enrich and create opportunity. The trouble is that too many young people growing up disadvantaged are still missing out on the successes of their wealthier peers.

It may have always been thus, but it needn’t be – something the SNP recognised when, in 2016, then first minister Nicola Sturgeon made closing the attainment gap “a priority” for her government, and then education secretary John Swinney said the goal was to “substantially eliminate” it within a decade.

We’re now within touching distance of that deadline, but not of the goal.

And so there is now a notable attainment gap between the Scottish Government’s rhetoric and its results.

Have political opponents noticed? Indeed they have, and they have not spared the red pen. “No amount of spin from them can avoid the fact that Nicola Sturgeon’s promises in relation to the attainment gap lie in tatters,” said Miles Briggs of the Scottish Conservatives. “The SNP has gone from promising to close the attainment gap entirely to congratulating itself for the most incremental progress,” said Pam Duncan-Glancy of Scottish Labour.

It's not that the government has nothing to celebrate here. The number of pupils achieving an A-C grade across the three levels has increased on last year and a record number of young Scots have gained college or university places.

The past 10 years have hit those on the margins harder than others. Energy bill hikes had a disproportionate impact on poorer Scots and the cost-of-living crisis had a disproportionate impact on children and young people, according to charities. And, though there can be a tendency to shrug it off now, the disruption of the Covid pandemic to learning and wellbeing cannot be understated. The era’s temporary assessment mitigations are now long gone and while some had suggested a marked improvement in 2025 results was on the cards, the inequality in achievement is clear to see.

Must do better? That old report card cliché feels like an understatement. Education reform has been discussed for years and this is the last exam diet to be delivered under the SQA. MSPs have backed its replacement and Qualifications Scotland is expected to be operational this autumn.

A fresh start is offered. How big a step this turns out to be remains to be seen, with critics having described it as a rebrand rather than a reform.

Andrea Bradley, general secretary of teaching union EIS, has said the results are “overall a good news story for Scotland”.

But there was a huge caveat. “Although we may be seeing some green shoots of recovery in achievement, many young people are still experiencing the long-lasting societal and educational impacts of the pandemic period, coupled with years of austerity, while schools, colleges, teachers and lecturers continue to try to respond to the growing needs of learners with insufficient numbers of teaching staff and other professionals, and the resultant severe workload pressures that continue to be placed on all education staff,” Bradley went on, calling for greater investment to ensure the system “truly and equitably meets the diverse needs of all learners”.