A knock to the system

As he moves onto pastures new, BBC Scotland's education correspondent Ken Macdonald takes a look at the twists and turns of the Scottish education system.

If a week is a long time in politics, then seven years on this beat seems like geological time.

I may have missed one or two along the way, but I reckon I have seen out six Scottish education ministers and no fewer than three different types of government: first a Conservative majority at Westminster, then a Labour one, now a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition at Holyrood.

But given all that, the most striking thing is not how much things have changed but how much Scottish education has remained the same.

In all respects but one: public confidence in the exam system - the Standard Grades and Highers, once regarded as the sound building blocks of a traditional Scottish education - has plumbed the depths.

This is hardly surprising given the scenes of last summer as thousands of incomplete and inaccurate results certificates arrived - or failed to arrive - across Scotland.

Sackings

With resignations, sackings and two parliamentary inquiries not far behind us, there are already claims that last year's stramash will be repeated.

But that is a tough prediction to make with any accuracy.

Despite many warnings last year that there were serious problems with the system no-one really knew that solids were about to interface with the air conditioning in such a disastrous way, until just before the results envelopes were due to start dropping through letter boxes.

All the indications are, though, that there will not be anywhere near the chaos experienced by the class of 2000.

While not all of last year's errors have yet been rectified, this year's data is entering the system on time.

Streamlined service

Markers have been given a 50% increase in an attempt to swell their numbers. The confusing results certificate is being streamlined.

A ministerial early warning group is watching for fresh problems.

That is the good news. The bad is that the error rate only has to be a fraction of last year's for the image of Scottish education to take another battering.

Some elements of the media are mounting what amounts to a death watch.

The slightest error - a missing grade here, a wrongly addressed envelope there - will be held up as proof of the collapse of the system.

But as the spin doctors are already reminding us, even the old system made mistakes.

So, as Jesse Jackson once said: "It's not over until it's over," - and even then it's not over.

Stramash

Finally, it has been pointed out that not all of you might be familiar with the meaning of the word stramash.

It is in fact the old Scots term for the Gaelic burach. I trust I make myself clear. No? Well, I guess it is too late now.

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Mike Baker is on holiday.

The education team welcomes your comments at: [e-mail] but it cannot always answer individual e-mails.