Exams for S4 pupils should be brought forward to allow more study for assessments in S5, the Government has been told.
The Scottish Government launched a consultation on its new Education Bill, which will legislate for the replacement of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and inspections body Education Scotland.
In its response to the consultation, the Commission on School Reform (CSR) - a group founded by the think tank Reform Scotland - urged ministers to give pupils more time to study for Higher courses.
Currently, pupils sit exams in the early summer before beginning their S5 studies for roughly one month before the summer holidays.
Under the CSR proposals, S4 exams will be moved to before the Easter break, with pupils beginning S5 after the holiday.
The group - made up of educational experts - also pushed for the separation of S4 exams from those in the two latter years, as well as for them to consist of just one paper, in a bid to shorten the exam timetable.
Broad general education - where pupils study a wider range of topics in their first three years at secondary school - should be reduced to two years, the group added.
In its submission to the consultation, the CSR said: "Since the pandemic a veritable plethora of reports on education have been published, but actual reform in Scotland moves at a glacial pace. While the pace of reform is often blamed, rightly, on Government, it is exacerbated by other actors being disingenuous in what they want.
"The Commission on School Reform is happy to contribute to this latest consultation.
"However, there is a lot of reviewing and report writing but very little actual reforming.
