Kezia Dugdale’s claim that the SNP has presided over a widening attainment gap in schools is ... only HALF TRUE

EACH WEEK IN COLLABORATION WITH INVESTIGATIVE WEBSITE THE FERRET, THE SUNDAY HERALD GETS TO THE TRUTH BEHIND THE SOUNDBITES

EDUCATION was once again in the spotlight last week, and has often led the political exchanges in Scotland.

The SNP’s record was highlighted during the BBC Scottish leaders’ debate on May 21.

This time it was the Labour leader Kezia Dugdale who criticised the First Minister’s educational failings, saying that the SNP had presided over an increase in the educational attainment gap. “You’ve had 10 years. A widening gap between rich and poor kids, that’s the record of the SNP,” Dugdale said.

The comment has been assessed by Ferret Fact Service, and we found it to be ... Half True.

The attainment gap is the name given to the varying levels of academic success between people from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Educational attainment has traditionally been lower in those from poorer backgrounds, and the size of the gap in achievement between poorer and richer pupils is often cited as an indicator of a country’s inequality.

There are a number of ways to measure levels of attainment in the classroom, but no clear method to define the attainment gap.

One often-cited survey is the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), which shows the level of attainment of 15-year-olds in reading, science and mathematics once every three years.

The latest findings are from 2015, and show a slight narrowing since 2009 in the attainment gap in science, but the gap has remained steady since 2012. In mathematics, the study found a “sustained reduction in the gap”.

Pisa does not use the same measure of deprivation as Scotland, where it is commonly measured by area.

A report from the Sutton Trust think tank using the Pisa figures found that Scottish pupils were scoring below average compared to other countries in the survey.

The Scottish Survey on Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN) is also used as a measure for deprivation and attainment. Since 2012, there has not been a significant change in the gap between the richest and poorest students in reading or writing at P4, P7 or S2.

Numeracy is measured in different years to literacy by the SSLN. There has been a significant increase in the attainment gap for P4 pupils since 2011.

Overall, SSLN statistics show that for the last five years at least, a significant attainment gap has endured and general attainment has decreased in many areas, but there does not seem to be strong evidence the gap has increased overall. There is more evidence for such a gap when looking at the achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) levels, which measure poverty as the bottom 20 per cent according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). This shows an increasing gap between the richest and poorest as they move through school.

However, there is some evi- dence to suggest in higher and further education that Scots from deprived backgrounds are, in fact, doing much better than when the SNP got into power.

The inconsistency of the data means it is extremely difficult to say with any certainty if the overall attainment gap is growing, shrinking or staying the same. So while Kezia Dugdale can point to some statistics which back up her claim, the SNP and First Minister can, and have, referenced other findings which suggest otherwise. Ferret Fact Service verdict: Half True The Ferret Fact Service (FFS) at https:// theferret.scot/ is Scotland’s first nonpartisan fact-checking service. We check statements from politicians, pundits and prominent public figures about issues the public are interested in. Just launched, FFS works to the International Fact-Checking Network code of principles.