Puppet shows have been deemed acceptable assessments for senior Scottish pupils studying the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).
A Courier investigation today reveals the SQA has approved the off-beat form of grading for vital coursework completed at fourth-year level.
At least one school has already used a puppet show in one of the three main assessments that must be passed by pupils prior to National 5 exams. It is understood the method may also be acceptable at Higher level.
In day two of our four-day series analysing CfE, a teacher blows the whistle on the controversial policy which was preached as good practice during a recent conference in Edinburgh.
The revelation comes as a Courier Country pupil accuses Scottish education chiefs of creating “easy” exams and littering the curriculum with “nonsensical buzzwords”.
We speak to the mother who worries her 15-year-old daughter is being treated as a guinea pig and interview the local authority education convener who has branded this year’s pupils “trailblazers”.
The SQA explain their move to broaden out assessment criteria and tell how focus has shifted to schools proving they are meeting learners’ needs rather than a central assessor taking a prescriptive approach.
And a member of a parent council gives her positive appraisal of CfE and lauds teachers who have been “prepared and knowledgeable” in the run-up to this year’s exams.
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