Not a single candidate at Douglas Academy in East Dunbartonshire was comfortable with the Credit listening paper - including pupils from native Italian families who speak the language at home - said teachers Anita Nicolson and Pauline Hulme, who collaborated on their review for The TESS.
It was “substantially more difficult than last year’s exam” - notably because of the way the language was presented, they said.
When they examined the transcript, they acknowledged that most of the language had been covered, but the manner in which the language was presented and the things candidates were being asked would have posed difficulties for many, they thought.
On the whole, the reading papers at Foundation, General and Credit were considered “fair” and “do-able”.
Some pupils found the General listening paper tricky, largely because such a high number of questions required candidates to give direct answers rather than “fill in the blanks”. Mrs Nicolson felt that some parts of the General listening CD were “not altogether clear”.
