Swinney ready to tackle P1 testing fears
● Minister to have a rethink but tests for five- year- olds will stay in place
Education secretary John Swinney has indicated that he may rethink the testing regime for the youngest pupils in Scotland amid concerns from teachers.
But he has made clear that the controversial primary one tests are here to stay.
There have been 400,000 Scottish National Standardised Assessments undertaken since being introduced last year.
But critics say the 40- minute tests in literacy and numeracy are happening too early for youngsters, particularly in deprived areas.
“I’ m very sensitive to the argument about P 1 assessment and I acknowledge the debate going on about this point,” Mr Swinney told Holyrood’s education committee yesterday.
“So I’m taking a very careful and close interest in it and I’m listening to what people are saying to me about this.”
Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott said there were concerns from pupils in deprived areas about the value in test- ing literacy and numeracy of children at such a young age.
“Particularly for young children, it’ s just a challenge to have the mina class never mind dealing with a test,” he said.
“I would be grateful if the cabinet secretary could reflect on that because I think there are some real issues there.”
Mr Swinney accepted t hat concerns had been raised among teachers over the tests, but insisted they have a key role to play in tackling the attainment gap between schools in poorer and more affluent areas of Scotland.
He said “I’m very open to the question. I think we’ve got to get this into its proper context. The P 1 assessment if properly handled will be a pretty straightforward experience for a child.
“It’s not presented in exam circumstances like the Scottish Qualifications Authority specialise in. It should be done in a very relaxed environment within the classroom. It shouldn’t take any longer than 40 minutes. That’s once a year.
“I don’t say that in any way trivialise the issues because I’ m very alert to these concerns. One of the reasons why we want to do this is to help to inform teacher judgement about where young peoples’ educational development needs the greatest amount of educational support. So it’ s to inform the professional judgement of teachers about how they can then deploy their professional skills.
“It will help us with how we assess how much progress we are making year by year in closing the poverty- linked attainment gap.
Mr Swinney said ministers want to identify the needs of children as early as possible so these can be addressed at a young age.
“I’m very happy to acknowledge that I’m sensitive to the issues that have been raised about the P1 assessments and I’ll listen carefully to the feedback that get.”
Educationalists have suggested putting primary one children through tests in literacy and numeracy skills is “tantamount ... to abuse”.
So it was most welcome to hear that Scotland’s Education Secretary John Swinney is open to rethinking the controversial exams, even though he stressed some kind of testing was here to stay.
One of the stated aims of the 40- minute assessments is to help close the “attainment gap” in education between pupils from the richest and poorest areas. And that is an important ambition which everyone in Scotland can get behind.
The tests help provide the base - line data which can later be used to show which pupils are improving and which are not, thereby potentially helping schools and the government identify particular problem areas and pick up on successful practices.
Politicians have an understandable desire for data to help them make sensible decisions but, in this case, ministers need to be alive to the potential dangers of gathering such information.
Swinney stressed the tests should be done in a “very relaxed environment” so clearly he does not want to see pupils being stigmatised or made to feel like they are “bottom of the league” at the age of just four or five. Those are just some of the concerns raised by the Play Not Tests campaign, supported by teaching unions and children’s charities. The Upstart Scotland charity compared the tests to an “adverse childhood experience” like illness, neglect or abuse, that could lead to mental health problems later in life.
But there is also the suggestion that tests at such a young age run counter to emerging ideas in education that children should learn through play. Rather than having knowledge inserted into their young minds for hours on end, they should be helped to discover the joy of finding things out.
The P1 tests were introduced in Scotland last year, so the concept is still a new one and the Scottish Government is unlikely to perform a sudden about- turn. But, while it’s only reasonable that the tests are given a decent chance to prove their worth, ministers must not allow any political considerations to influence their policies. So, if the tests are not shown to have significant benefits or if they are found to be anything like close to “abuse”, they should be scrapped, whatever the resulting political embarrassment.