10 November 2006
The Scottish Qualifications Authority, at the centre of a major controversy over inaccurate and incomplete exam results six years ago, has re-established confidence in its work, Audit Scotland has found.
However, the public spending watchdog advised that the SQA should develop a more strategic focus and identify opportunities for efficiency savings.
'The SQA's corporate planning process has established clear objectives but performance management information is not clearly linked to these objectives at present,' the report stated.
Stressing that the SQA had successfully re-established confidence, auditor general Bob Black added: 'It is demonstrating an ongoing commitment to making improvements.'
The study, Performance management in the Scottish Qualifications Authority, published on November 9, looked at the progress made since the exam problems in 2000.
Areas identified as needing reform included governance, planning, staffing, communication, operational processes and examination procedures.
Audit Scotland found that the SQA had successfully re-established customer and stakeholder confidence and the board and executive team had shown commitment and leadership in driving forward improvements.
The SQA's corporate planning process had also established clear objectives.
But there remains scope for further improvement in the role of management, the study found. In a staff survey in 2005/06, only 37% of staff felt that senior management provided them with a clear sense of direction.
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