Online test data will not bring return of education league tables, says Swinney

John Swinney has moved to quell fears that the new national assessments being introduced in Scotland's schools could be used to bring about a return to education league tables.

The Education Secretary clarified the Scottish Government would only be able to access national data from the online tests, which will measure the performance of pupils in P1, P4, P7 and S3.

This is the first year students will have to complete the online assessments, and the Scottish Government stressed they had been designed to be "as short as possible and age and stage appropriate", with audio instructions for youngsters in P1.

Ministers have argued the tests are a vital part of efforts to close the education attainment gap, claiming the data will pinpoint where more work needs to be done.

But critics of standardised assessments fear they could lead to the return of school league tables, while unions have also warned the new system could be "absolutely destructive" if it brings an "obsession with targets" into classrooms across the country.

However Mr Swinney said the Scottish Government would only be able to access national data, adding this would help ministers identify "strengths and weaknesses in particular aspects of literacy and numeracy."

Speaking at an international education conference in Glasgow, he said: "This Government is putting more power and money into the hand of schools and teachers and it is crucial they understand what is working well to drive improvement and tackle the attainment gap.''

Mr Swinney added: "Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSA) give teachers objective and comparable information that will assist teachers in identifying specific needs of our young people in fulfilling their potential.

"We have already had very positive feedback from them about level of detail telling them where pupils are succeeding or where they require further development. This data is clearly useful for schools and local authorities.''

He also said: "The Scottish Government will have access to national level data only, to help us identify trends, including strengths and weaknesses in particular aspects of literacy and numeracy.

"This will, in turn, inform national policy, and drive support and improvement priorities to enhance the education and life chances of our young people."

The assessments will allow teachers to determine how well pupils are doing in the key areas of reading, writing and numeracy, with automatic online marking giving immediate feedback.

There is no particular time the tests should be carried out, according to the Scottish Government, with schools and teachers allowed to choose the most appropriate time of the year.

Children will not need to revise or study for them, and the way the assessments have been designed means that if a child is struggling then questions will get easier, while the difficulty level will increase for youngsters who perform well.

The Scottish Government has also confirmed it will continue to publish data on the proportion of pupils meeting standards set out in the Curriculum for Excellence for literacy and numeracy, as the standardised assessments will provide a "relatively narrow snapshot of children's progress''.