Swinney: Scrapping primary one tests is irresponsible
Scrapping controversial tests for primary one pupils would be deeply irresponsible, Education Secretary John Swinney has said.
He accused opposition politicians, who have been calling for the standardised national assessments to be axed, of being “ill-informed” and hypocritical in much of their criticism.
The EIS teaching union also wants tests scrapped after some teachers reported they left some children in tears.
The Scottish Parliament will vote on the issue on Wednesday and opposition MSPS are expected to defeat the Government, but this would not be legally binding.
Ahead of the vote, Mr Swinney issued his latest defence of the tests, urging MSPS to have a “fact-based” debate, criticising opposition claims and warning them to avoid putting party politics above children’s education.
“I am perfectly happy to have a debate on the merits of standardised assessments which is based on fact, but frankly many of the criticisms from opposition politicians have ranged from ill-informed to hypocritical,” he said. “Some opposition politicians are now proposing to scrap P1 assessments. To do this would be deeply irresponsible.”
Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: “The facts are that teachers themselves have found them to be a waste of their time, and the time of their pupils.”