Poverty-related Higher attainment gap up from last year but below 2019 level

The Higher attainment gap between the most and least deprived areas of Scotland has grown wider since last year, while remaining below pre-pandemic levels.

Tuesday’s exam results figures show that the gap in attainment of A to C grades between the fifth most-deprived and fifth least-deprived areas stood at 16 percentage points for 2023.

This has risen from 2022’s figure of 14.9 percentage points.

However, it is below the last pre-pandemic level in 2019, when an attainment gap of 16.9 percentage points was recorded.

For the attainment gap at National 5 level, there was a similar trend with the gap becoming smaller from last year while remaining narrower than the 2019 level.

Meanwhile, the attainment gap at the Advanced Higher level has grown narrower than 2019.

This stood at 13.2 percentage points in 2019, remaining at 13.2 percentage points in 2022 before falling to 11.5 percentage points in 2023.

The Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) noted that there have been different approaches to awarding of exam results in the years since 2019, urging caution in drawing conclusions about education performance over this period.

The deprivation areas are determined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), which divides the country into quintiles.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said that across the three levels, the attainment gap was lower than pre-pandemic.

She said: “While we know that the pandemic has disproportionately impacted young people from more disadvantaged backgrounds, these results show that the gap in attainment levels between the least and most deprived areas remains narrower than it was in 2019.

“We are determined to build on the progress that has been made and we are investing a record £1 billion in the Scottish Attainment Challenge during this parliamentary term.”

She added: “For those who don’t get the results they were looking for, a free and direct appeals service will give all young people the right to request a review of their marked exam papers or coursework for their National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher results this year.

“Additionally, as you consider your next steps there is help available to guide you.”

The Conservatives pointed out that the attainment gap for A grades at Highers is at its widest level since 2017.

Education spokesman Liam Kerr said: “Pupils, teachers and parents deserve great credit for their hard work after a school year which has been impacted by the consequences of the SNP Government’s underfunding of councils and failure to show leadership over reforms.

“I’d like to congratulate all those who have achieved the grades they hoped for and to acknowledge the commitment that made that possible.

“But while pupils and teachers have done their bit, it is impossible to ignore the impact on Scotland’s education system of 16 years of SNP neglect.

“The widening attainment gap should be a source of shame for ministers – pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds have been let down year after year by the SNP.

“For a government that claims to be ‘progressive’, it represents an abject and shameful failure.”

Lib Dem education spokesman Willie Rennie said: “Every young person deserves our congratulations for their results and recognition for the effort in achieving them.

“I recall the great anticipation I felt at that age about what was to come next and planning for the future.

“Yet the yawning poverty-related attainment gap is a warning for the SNP Government which promised to close the gap, but instead the gap is as wide as ever.

“If the SNP worked as hard as young people, we may not have such a wide poverty-related attainment gap.”