The 446,229 tests of Scottish primary pupils since MSPs voted against 'useless and cruel' SNP initiative
The Scottish Government is under fresh pressure over controversial testing of P1 pupils after figures showed 446,229 tests have been conducted since MSPs voted to scrap them in 2018.
Concerns have been raised about the standardised assessments since they were introduced in 2017 to try to gather more data about the stages children have reached in their learning, with literacy and numeracy tests at P1, P4, P7 and S3 level.
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Hide AdFirst Minister John Swinney was education secretary in 2018 when MSPs backed a Conservative motion by 63 to 61 calling for a halt to the tests. It was non-binding, but Mr Swinney said he would "reflect" on the defeat.
Now the Scottish Liberal Democrats have obtained figures showing 446,229 tests have been conducted since 2018, including 71,060 last year alone.
Lib Dem education spokesman Willie Rennie said: “Scottish Liberal Democrats and education campaigners won a hard-fought parliamentary victory, which called for the scrapping of Thatcherite standardised testing of P1 pupils.
“But the SNP Government is hell-bent on ignoring the will of Parliament at every opportunity, effectively telling it to get stuffed. If Westminster treated them like that, they would be up in arms.
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Hide Ad“From the very beginning, teachers have been clear that these tests are too stressful for the four and five-year-old children subjected to them. They tell teachers nothing they do not already know.
“Government is about choices, and this Government have chosen to cut funding for mental health and school meals, all while maintaining a multi-million-pound contract on useless and cruel P1 tests. No wonder people don’t trust the SNP anymore.”
Earlier this month, The Scotsman revealed how the Scottish Greens had presented SNP ministers with a dossier of research detailing how huge numbers of children are being written off at an early age in schools because of the “perverse incentives” created by the testing system.
Schools can be required to report on the percentage of children who are “on track” to reach an “expected level”, using tracking systems colour-coded as red, amber or green, based on their likelihood of hitting the expected grade.
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Hide AdIn evidence to a focus group, one primary school depute head said: “The amber children are where the gains are.
“The system itself is set up to write children off from a really young age and to put the very little support we have onto ‘amber children’ because you can affect your figures with those kids, but you can’t affect your figures with the ‘red children’.
“I've got a huge number of examples from this year of children who have made massive progress, particularly in P7, but they haven't ‘made the level’.”
Last night, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The assessment approach in Scotland places teacher professional judgement at the heart of the process.
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Hide Ad“The National Standardised Assessments for Scotland are a helpful additional source of diagnostic information for teachers when considering children’s progress in literacy and numeracy.
“Our survey of staff using the assessments in 2023/24 showed that the majority found the assessments helpful in informing future teaching and learning.
“David Reedy’s independent review of Scottish National Standardised Assessments for P1 in 2019 found that they have significant potential and should continue. His recommendations on enhancing assessments and support materials for teachers have since been implemented.”
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