Scotland’s Commission on School Reform has expressed concern over student performance in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects, after analysing exam pass rates for secondary pupils between 2015 and 2024. Only 40.1% – or less than half – of Scottish fourth-year (typically aged 14 to 16) pupils achieved a pass rate for National 5 mathematics in 2024, with 75.2% passing English and 25% biology. The report uses data based on the number of pupils in the cohort, rather than the number that sits the examination. Former Kilmarnock Academy headteacher and report co-author Carole Ford explained the report said there was a “mountain to climb” and that there were more challenges such as teacher providers and discrepancies in National 5 levels that are grouped under STEM.
Reform Scotland chair Lord Jack McConnell added that improving pass rates in STEM is a “matter of critical national importance” suggesting that “If our economic future is to be based around industries like renewable energy and health sciences, the deficit in our STEM pass rates revealed by this research is not good enough.” In 2013, a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that Scottish school pupils tended to underperform in mathematics and science when compared with 64 other countries.
A spokesperson for the Scottish government stated that pupils were best placed by their individual schools, parents and teachers to determine at what age national qualifications are taken. “They are best-placed to determine the correct pathway for each young person and this flexibility and child-centred approach has been a key feature of Curriculum for Excellence for many years”, they said. “One of the most important aspects of such decisions is that young people are entered at the level of qualification at which they have the best chance of achieving success.
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