High school final school exam grades in Scotland have sparked a bitter debate about how students have been assessed this year, amid the chaos caused to education systems across the world by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After canceling exams for the first time in its history, Scotland decided to run a grading system based on teacher assessments, moderated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). But thousands of pupils complained that their results had been downgraded by the algorithm used by the SQA, which put students from less affluent schools and more deprived areas at a disadvantage, as the system considers historic schools' performances over individual students' accomplishments.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon apologized, saying that the government "did not get it right," despite having the best intentions. "Our concern, which was to make sure the grades young people got were as valid as in any other year, perhaps led us to think too much about the overall system and not enough about the individual pupil," she said. She then announced that steps would be taken to ensure each student "gets a grade that recognizes the work they have done."

John Swinney, Scotland's education minister, could face a vote of no confidence if no action is taken to address the issue.

Meanwhile, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, where tests were also canceled, A-levels results (secondary final school grades) are due out on Thursday. The same approach as in Scotland was used to assess students, combining their ranking and schools' results in previous years.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has recognized anxiety over the risk that the algorithm poses to exacerbate existing patterns of inequality for low-income and students from a minority background. "We will do our best to ensure that the hard work of pupils is properly reflected," he said.

How did other European countries approach exam grading?

Final exams are a bit of an ancient ritual in education: they have remained almost the same over the past 100 years – held in physical format, based on textbook knowledge – and they haven't really caught up with the advancement of technology and media.

For this reason, after a long period of uncertainty concerning students and the reopening of schools while the virus is still circulating, most countries in Europe, similarly to the UK, decided to cancel exams. The decision was also motivated by a genuine attempt to avoid discriminating against poorer students, who might have lacked the support of their family, the space or the necessary technological set-up to continue studying at home while schools were closed.

The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and France have all canceled final exams, with students receiving their exam grades based on their previous results during the year.

In the Netherlands, where schools could allow students to retake failed tests, a third of secondary schools reported all of their final-year students getting a diploma – a number five times higher than that for the previous three years. 

In France the grades of the baccalauréat were based on continuous assessment only, using grades of the first three semesters, while those obtained during lockdown were not taken into account. The country is also offering a chance for those students who failed the exam on 7 July to retake it in September.

Germany, Italy, Austria and Hungary decided to hold final exams, though under different formats to implement COVID-19 safety measures. 

Italy chose to hold the exams – the much romanticized maturità – in person, with students and teachers wearing face masks and keeping a 2-meter distance.

The final exams in Italy traditionally include an oral exam as well as two written tests. Written and oral tests are held on different days and the total duration of the exam is between 13 and 19 hours. This year, the written exams were canceled and students were tested during a single oral exam of a maximum length of one hour, carefully scheduled to avoid crowding in the schools.

In Germany, the Abitur – the German equivalent of the final secondary school exam – was held in May. Students took the tests in schools' gyms and spaces where the desks could be positioned at a 3-meter distance, offering teachers and students the possibility of moving around the room while keeping a 1.5-meter distance between each other.

Austria, having infection rates quite low and under control, also chose to hold final exams. Students had to take a mandatory written exam, while the oral test was optional. In order to offer a well-balanced evaluation, both exam grades and the grades obtained during the school year contributed to the final assessment.

Hungary held the érettségi taking a similar approach, canceling the oral test but holding the written exam for high-school seniors. No more than 10 students shared the same room during the exam and a distance of 1.5-meters was kept between them.

With different approaches, none of them ideal, European countries are taking action to avoid chaos during the university application process this autumn – but students still face crippling uncertainty ahead of them as it's unclear how the pandemic will unfold this fall.

Check out our new six-part podcast series Notes on a Pandemic as CGTN Europe finds out how business, science and people have risen to the challenge of COVID-19.