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 BBC Scotland's Kenneth Macdonald"It's no surprise pass rates are lower in poorer areas"  real 28k |
Exam results reveal achievement gap
 This year's Highers candidates maintained the overall average |
By BBC Scotland Education Correspondent, Kenneth Macdonald
Exam results for Scotland's schools and councils show that some state schools are performing twice as well as the average for the whole country.
The so-called "league tables" published by the Scottish Executive on Monday show Higher pass rates are improving slightly - but also that there are wide variations between different local authorities.
News Online has comprehensive listings, with key results indicators for all 432 state and independent secondary schools.
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The full official figures cover a wide range of categories - from Standard Grade passes to the numbers staying on after the minimum school leaving age.
Inevitably, though, it is performance in the Highers - and in particular the proportion of fifth year pupils passing three or more of them - which will attract most attention.
 We should all welcome success when it is evident  |
| Education Minister Sam Galbraith |
The top performing local authority in this category is East Renfrewshire: there, 37% passed three or more Highers.
The top state schools by this measure are Mearns Castle in East Renfrewshire and Stromness Academy in Orkney.
The results show a 1% rise on last year in the numbers of pupils achieving Standard Grades 1 to 6.
 Sam Galbraith: Praise for professionalism of educators |
"I am also very pleased to note the rise in the number of pupils gaining five or more Highers at grades A-C.
"Though exam performance is not the only barometer by which we can measure school performance, it would be churlish to deny that it is an important part of it.
"I would like to pay tribute to the professional commitment throughout the system that has made this possible."
 Douglas Osler: "Wider factors to remember" |
"However, parents should bear in mind that other factors, such as the quality of learning and teaching, an ethos of achievement and the quality of leadership should be taken into account in judging the quality of education in any school."
But critics say these raw results fail to show factors like the social deprivation some schools have to overcome.
Schools now have performance targets which do take account of one measure of poverty - how many of their pupils are entitled to free school meals. There have been objections that this is too crude a measure.
The first national picture of how close schools are so far to hitting their targets are due to be released next month. The schools have until 2001 to achieve them.
Mr Galbraith said the government was continuing to stress the need for continuing improvements.
"We cannot be complacent about academic standards - further improvement at all levels should be the aim - but we should all welcome success when it is evident," he said.
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 | 20 Nov 99 | Education |
| School and university league tables |
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| 18 Aug 99 | exams99 |
| Exam pass rate rise welcomed |
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