Analysis: SNP ministers under pressure to finally act to arrest decline in Scotland's education performance

Nation’s plummeting Pisa scores will spark fresh demands for reform

The ongoing slide in Scotland’s performance in Pisa tests is wounding to the once-proud reputation of Scottish education.

What will be of most concern is not the fact that the scores of the nation’s 15-year-olds in maths, science and reading have declined again.

After all, that was expected, in part as a result of the disruption caused by the closure of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth chats to pupils during a visit to Craigmount High School in Edinburgh to mark SQA Results Day 2023. Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

Indeed, most countries experienced a downturn since the last Pisa tests were conducted in 2018.

But the coronavirus crisis can not be used to explain why Scotland is falling so far behind England in maths and science, or why the drops in performance by Scottish pupils are sharper than the OECD averages.

Teaching unions were among those urging caution about the figures, saying they only tell “a fraction of the story”.

That may be true, and Scotland’s performance is still better than a great many nations, including Wales.

But the Pisa scores have come amid a period of growing concern about the state of Scottish education.

The unease has intensified in recent weeks and months after ministers delayed plans to overhaul the Scottish Qualifications Authority, Education Scotland, as well as a long-awaited blueprint for reform of the exams system.

Now, in the wake of the 2022 Pisa scores, experts are putting part of the blame on Curriculum for Excellence, which was introduced with cross-party support in 2010, around the time Scotland’s results started to deteriorate.

The last thing the Scottish education needs is another review, but criticisms of the way the curriculum has been implemented will need to be addressed.

Despite the Pisa scores, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth insisted national data pointed to “clear evidence of an ongoing recovery”.

However, she also admitted the Government and councils would also have “key learning” to take from the Pisa, which she will address in a statement to parliament next week.

Problems with Scotland’s performance in Pisa tests clearly predate her appointment, or that of First Minister Humza Yousaf, earlier this year.

But they are the ones who are now under huge pressure to finally take the difficult decisions needed to arrest the nation’s decline.