Scottish education crisis: Successive SNP ministers have just accepted the decline of our education system – Jackie Baillie

The ‘Curriculum for Excellence' secured cross-party support when it was introduced and politicians must now work together again on its replacement

The numbers do not lie. The state of Scottish education has been laid bare in a global study of reading, maths and science. The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) study took in results from more than 80 countries. It’s the gold standard for measuring how schools deliver for pupils.

In the three subjects, Scotland’s performance has dropped dramatically. Since the last survey, four years ago, there has been an 18-point decline in maths, 11 in reading and seven in science. The stats mean that a 15-year-old Scottish pupil is working to a standard that a 14-year-old could achieve four years ago. The test scores are on a par with communist-run Vietnam.

Figures like that ought not to be the cause for ministerial reflection but resignation. Instead, we get complacency. Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth promises there will be “key learning” for the Scottish Government from the figures, whatever that means.

Pisa is the largest and most prestigious survey of school standards in the world. There are two other surveys which the Scottish Government withdrew from, no doubt to save them the shame of the depressing message evidenced in the figures: that young people across Scotland are being let down by the education system.

The UK as a whole remains above average among the nations which take part. But there is a marked disparity within the UK with Scotland, showing a significant decline. At one time, Scotland prided itself on the standard of teaching in our schools and the superiority of our system over England. In Scotland, we are now just average in our teaching of maths and science.

Of course, the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic has played its part, but Scotland’s decline in the league tables has been consistent – steadily downwards since 2012, apart from reading which improved temporarily in 2018.

The figures should instil a sense of crisis but Jenny Gilruth hid behind the impact of Covid which has caused test scores to decline in most countries. That does not explain why performance in Scotland dropped more sharply than elsewhere, it does not excuse the Scottish Government’s failure to provide adequate support for pupils during the pandemic.

A succession of SNP education ministers have failed Scottish teachers and pupils and presided over an educational establishment with disinterested acceptance of continuing decline. It would be easy to score political points on the party of government whose former leader wanted to be judged on closing the attainment gap between rich and poor pupils and whose legacy is now inextricably linked to an impounded campervan.

But this is fundamentally important. It is about the life chances of the next generation and, very quickly afterwards, the future of our country. Instead of taking position behind political barricades, there is an urgent need to find a consensus on improving Scottish education.

The 'Curriculum for Excellence’ which guides secondary teaching and has an emphasis on enabling pupils to think for themselves rather than on imparting knowledge is cited as a key problem, but not the only one. There was cross-party support for the change over a decade ago and there has to be cross-party work to dismantle and rebuild an education system which is letting our children and our teachers down.

Jackie Baillie MSP is Scottish Labour’s deputy leader