Nicola Sturgeon said today at First Minister’s Questions that she would press on with plans outlined earlier this year to test all primary pupils and publish the results on a school-by-school basis.
However, in an advice note for teachers, the EIS said this was not the case, and it had persuaded the Scottish Government to water down the plans it has been so critical off.
The note states: “The EIS challenged early drafts of the National Improvement Framework (NIF) which articulated an intention to test cohorts of young people across the country within a given assessment timetable and to have the results of these tests published school by school.
“Having made a strong representation around the educational arguments against such measures, the EIS welcomes that the final version … indicates that standardised test scores will not be collected (other than on an anonymised sampling basis) nor published for P1, P4, P7 and S3.”
But this is a clear contradiction to what the First Minister said today in the Scottish Parliament, and on the internet earlier this year when she stated the percentage “of pupils achieving literacy and numeracy levels at P1, 4, 7 and S3 will be published by school”.
And today, she reiterated that the results “published school-by-school” would not be a sample, but the results of the tests taken by every pupil in Scotland.
The Scottish Conservatives have criticised the apparent softening of the approach by the SNP, saying without the adequate data, issues with schools would not be identified and help given.
Earlier this week, it emerged numeracy rates in Scotland continue to fall, while no progress has been made in closing the attainment gap.
After the concept of nationalised testing was raised by the Scottish Conservatives last year, Nicola Sturgeon agreed to pursue the idea, despite criticism of the EIS at the time.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said:
“It’s clear there is a significant gulf in what Nicola Sturgeon says she wants to do, and what she’s telling teachers she expects to happen.
“We would support the SNP in making sure children are assessed from primary, and that the school-by-school results are published so we know where the problems lie.
“Not a handful of samples which don’t provide the data we need to help struggling schools.
“But despite saying she would take this approach, it’s pretty clear Scotland’s largest teaching union has other ideas.
“It says it has won concessions from the SNP, and that what Nicola Sturgeon said in January won’t be happening at all.
“If we’re serious about closing the attainment gap and improving standards in schools, we need to push on with this plan.
“We will stick to our guns on this most vital of matters – it’s time the Scottish Government made that same commitment.”