Scottish ministers have been accused of presiding over a "shameful failure" after the attainment gap between the wealthiest and poorest pupils widened again.
Exam results sent out to learners across Scotland on Tuesday confirmed a 16 percentage point gap at Higher, up from 14.9 points last year, 7.9 in 2021 and 6.4 in 2020.
The difference in the number of pupils from the most affluent and the most deprived areas gaining A, B and C grades at Higher is now almost back to the 16.9 per cent gap recorded in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The gap was also larger than last year at National 5 level, although at Advanced Higher it is now narrower than 2019.
The overall pass rate has also moved a step closer to 2019 levels, having fallen since last year.
Scottish Conservative education spokesman Liam Kerr said: "The widening attainment gap should be a source of shame for ministers – pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds have been let down year after year by the SNP."For a government that claims to be ‘progressive’, it represents an abject and shameful failure.”
Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon once described closing the poverty-related attainment gap as the “defining mission” of her government.
