Pupils across Scotland will not sit either Higher or Advanced Higher exams next year.
Education Secretary John Swinney announced the exams were being
cancelled in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Grades will instead be based on teacher judgement of evidence of learner attainment.
He explained ministers "had dual priorities of safety and fairness" when determining whether exams should go ahead.
John Swinney said: "There is no getting around the fact that a significant percentage of our poorest pupils have lost significantly more than other pupils' teaching time."
And he insisted: "I will not stake the future of our Higher pupils - whether they get a place at college, university, training or work - on a lottery of whether their school was hit by Covid.
"Exams cannot account for differential loss of learning and could lead to unfair results for our poorest pupils. This could lead to pupils' futures being blighted through no fault of their own. That is simply not fair."
The Education Secretary also announced a special payment would be made to those teachers and lecturers who are critical in assessing National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams.
He said: "In acknowledgement of the additional workload of assessment of national qualifications in this unique academic year in the absence of exams, I intend to make an exceptional one-off payment to teachers and lecturers who are critical to assessing and marking N5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses this year.
"We will progress this urgently with partners and employers, including discussing when and how the payment will be delivered."
National 5 exams due to take place next year have already been cancelled.
