PA MediaPass rates for Scottish pupils in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) subjects are “very worrying”, according to a report by education experts.
The Commission on School Reform analysed exam pass rates for secondary pupils taking National 5 subjects, which revealed a persistent decline in maths and science outcomes.
Only 40.1% of fourth year pupils – typically aged 14-16 years old – achieved a pass rate for National 5 mathematics in 2024, while 75.2% passed English. Just over 25% passed the most popular science subject, biology.
The Scottish government said that not all pupils sit National 5 exams in S4.
The commission on school reform is an independent group of education experts, set up by think tank Reform Scotland.
Its latest report, Broken Stem, analyses SQA exam data based on the number of pupils in the cohort, rather than the number which sit the examination.
The report said the “real” pass rate for Nat 5 examinations are:
- 40.1% in mathematics
- 25.9% in biology
- 22.5% in chemistry
- 17.9% in physics
- 9.8% in computing science
Former Kilmarnock Academy headteacher and member of the commission, Carole Ford, said the data laid bare that there was a “mountain to climb”.
She said: “This is some of the most important, if worrying, data that we have produced in recent years, and it offers a ‘real world’ perspective of how our pupils are doing.
“The research reiterates the case for the commission’s call for an Office for School Education Data to oversee a new data programme, overseen by parliament.”
‘Not good enough’
Chair of Reform Scotland and former first minister Lord Jack McConnell said it was “very worrying” that less than half of Scotland’s 16-year-olds had passed National 5 maths.
He added: “If our economic future is to be based around industries like renewable energy and health sciences, improving our pass rates in mathematics and the sciences is a matter of critical national importance.
“The deficit in our Stem pass rates revealed by this research is not good enough.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish government said pupils, parents and teachers at individual school’s are best placed to decide at what age national qualifications are taken.
They added: “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.
“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.”
