Part 2
Scottish Education
Grading the Standard Grade Exams
The exams are written, administered, and graded by the SEB-a national,
government-appointed body. In grading the exams, students are measured
against a set standard, not on how they compare to other students'
performance.
Scottish teachers hired by the SEB grade the exams. They are trained for
half of a day by the SEB and are released from their teaching duties for
this training. Teachers grade the exams on their own time and are paid for
each exam scored. The SEB checks random samples of each teacher's exams for
accuracy. Teachers often choose to grade exams because it is a good way to
learn about the SEB's expectations in order to better prepare their
students.
Post-Compulsory Education
Scotland's post-compulsory education system provides various avenues by
which students can pursue further education, both academic and vocational.
But the immediate avenues open to particular students are constrained by
the scores that students receive on their Standard Grade exams. In general,
students who receive 1s and 2s move directly into preparing for university;
those who earn 5s and 6s are generally closed out of a university path, and
those earning 3s and 4s can choose between pursuing an academic or
vocational path, though most will not end up at university twenty-seven
percent of Scottish students leave secondary school after 10th grade to
enter the workforce and/or pursue vocational training. The remaining -73
percent remain in secondary school for one or two years with 27 percent of
all students eventually going on to university. All students enrolled in
universities and vocational training after secondary school receive free
tuition and a stipend based on their parents' income level.
The College Option
After taking the Standard Grade exams, students who want to enter college
must take 160-hour (i.e. one academic year) academic courses known as
"Higher Grade" courses and then take exams called "Highers," which are used
as entry requirements by universities. Students are required to pass at
least three Highers for university entrance, plus they must have passed
Standard Grade exams in two other subjects. However, most universities
require students to take and pass Highers in four or five subjects: the
combination of subjects depends on their intended major.
Students who pass a Credit level Standard Grade exam (receive a 1 or 2) are
entitled to take a Higher exam in that subject area after completing a
one-year Higher Grade course in the subject. Students who receive a 3 or 4
may take a Higher exam in that subject after taking two more years of
coursework (i.e. at the end of the U.S. equivalent of 12th grade). In some
instances, a student will retake a Higher exam to better a mediocre or
failing score or to improve the chances of acceptance into the most
competitive colleges. But the student must first repeat the Higher Grade
course, either in secondary school or at a further education college.
The Work Option
Students who do not attend university may pursue one of two well-regarded
vocational certificates, either Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs),
which can be taken in 107 specific occupational titles (e.g., nursing and
electrical engineering), or General Scottish Vocational Qualification
(GSVQ), which can be earned in one of five broad occupational areas
(business administration, care, hospitality, leisure and tourism, and
technology). GSVQs are designed for students who have not yet chosen a
specific profession and wish to explore a general field of interest.
Both the SVQ and GSVQ certificates are awarded by the Scottish Vocational
Education Council (SCOTVEC) and are earned by completing a prescribed set
of standardized "modules" - 40-hour courses in subjects ranging from
accounting to welding. The content of each module, as well as the criteria
by which students' mastery will be judged, are set forth by SCOTVEC, which
develops these standards in cooperation with business and industry
associations. Teachers develop the actual courses and end-of-course
assessments; SCOTVEC hires and trains moderators who review teachers'
assessments and scores to ensure that they are all comparable and reflect
the national standards set forth by SCOTVEC.
Most modules are designed to prepare students for work, mainly in the
trades and technical fields. But some modules cover academic material (for
example, a module in finance would cover a good deal of math) and are also
taken by college-bound students who believe the real-world applications
offered in the modules can improve their understanding of their Higher
Grade courses and enhance their scores on the Higher exams.
The certification system is designed so that individuals can earn modules
at various institutions. Thirty-five hundred different modules are offered
at 700 certified locations, including secondary schools (which typically
offer one to two hundred different modules). Modules are also taught at
further education colleges (similar to community and technical colleges in
the United States), training organizations, and the workplace. Because the
modules are standardized, people can combine modules obtained at multiple
locations to earn SVQs and GSVQS.
As students successfully complete modules they are awarded module
certificates, which are listed on each student's Record of Education and
Training (RET), maintained by SCOTVEC. Students are awarded SVQs or GSVQs
once they complete the appropriate combination of modules. In many cases,
the same module is required for several different SVQs or GSVQS; thus
students often do not have to start over completely should they decide to
change careers.
The vocational certificates carry weight in the labor market because
employers know exactly what skills the student must master to achieve the
certificate and because the skills conform to those needed in that
occupation at the present time. Thus students with the certificates find
jobs more easily, and workers can obtain new certificates if they wish to
change careers or improve their chances for promotions and pay increases.
The RET facilitates a process of continual training-and creates concrete
incentives for continued training-by making students' training histories
accessible to both themselves and employers.
While highly structured, the Scottish education system does not foreclose
second chances: it is sufficiently fluid to allow students who enter
vocational or technical training to later decide to pursue a higher
education degree. If the decision is made early, a student would take
Higher Grade courses in secondary school or further education colleges and
sit for Higher exams. For individuals who have been in vocational training
or the workforce for three or four years, universities usually do not
require they pass Higher exams but will instead examine their experience
and the modules they have earned and, most likely, require additional
coursework at further education colleges. In addition, SCOTVEC has
instituted changes to make it easier for students to qualify for university
entrance by earning certain combinations of modules. The vocational track
allows career changes as well; students pursuing a certificate in one
occupational field may change their mind and switch to a certificate
program in another field.
Chuck Beams
Fidonet - 1:2608/70
cbeams@future.dreamscape.com
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* UniQWK #5290* "The welfare of the people is the chief law."  Cicero
--- Maximus 2.01wb
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