28% of P7 pupils 'not achieving required levels of literacy and numeracy'
New stats show pupils performance dropped as they went through primary school.
More than a quarter of children are not achieving the expected levels of literacy and numeracy as they finish primary school, according to new figures.
Statistics looking at the number of children considered by teachers to be performing at the required level for their age in Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) have been published by the Scottish Government for the first time.
They show the proportion of pupils achieving the relevant level for their school year decreased throughout the primary stages.
The figures revealed that 72% of P7 pupils achieved the required level, down from 75% in P4 and 81% in P1.
Curriculum areas measured include reading, writing, listening and talking and numeracy.
For P7, attainment levels as measured by teachers were 72% for reading, 65% for writing, 77% for listening and talking and 68% for numeracy.
The statistics showed an improvement in secondary school, with the proportion of S3 pupils achieving CfE third level or better between 84% and 87% for each curriculum area.
For each area, a higher proportion of pupils living in the least-deprived areas achieve the CfE level relevant to their stage compared to pupils living in the most-deprived areas.
The gap between pupils from the 20% most-deprived areas and those from the least-deprived areas for writing at P7 is 23%, for example.
The publication comes a week after it emerged Scotland's schools had recorded their worst-ever performance in the latest set of Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) figures.
Separate data showed there were 50,970 teachers in 2016, up by 253 full-time equivalent on last year. Class sizes in P1 to P3 are the same as last year and broadly the same across primary school.
The pupil-teacher ratio remains unchanged for the third successive year at 13.7.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: I very much welcome the rise in teacher numbers compared to last year.
We can also see that class sizes are broadly stable and the pupil-teacher ratio has been maintained. This is all good news, particularly when you consider the teacher recruitment challenges being faced in some areas.
The initial teacher judgement data, published today for the very first time, illuminates progress being made in different parts of the country and by children in our least and most deprived areas.
These figures shine a light on where excellence already exists and where there is more to do, both to target resources and to ensure that children are getting the right support at the right time.
They come ahead of the introduction of standardised assessments next year and provide a basis upon which to build our knowledge about how children are progressing at school.
The wide variation in some of the data does, however, highlight the value that standardised assessment will bring.
Currently there are inconsistencies in the way young people's progress is being assessed and reported in schools across the country.
The standardised assessments will provide teachers with nationally consistent data to help inform their professional judgement.''