ATTAINMENT GAP STILL TOO WIDE
THE poverty-related attainment gap in education remains wide despite progress in recent years, a report from auditors claims.
The auditor general found that progress to improve outcomes for pupils fell short of the Scottish Government’s aims.
While exam performance at the national level has improved, progress since 2014 has been inconsistent across council areas. In the proportion of school leavers achieving five or more awards at level five, the figure was 82.7 per cent for pupils from the least deprived areas, compared with 46.5 per cent for school leavers from the most deprived areas.
The findings come after a separate report from the Scottish Government on its “Attainment Challenge”, launched by in 2015. It found there is “strong evidence” the £750million Attainment Scotland Fund was making a difference.
The auditors’ report, published today, said it was important to look beyond exam results when judging education. Education Secretary John Swinney said: “Closing the povertyrelated attainment gap across Scotland and giving every young person the chance to fulfil their full potential, regardless of their background, remains our defining mission.
“We are making good progress but closing the gap remains a long-term and complex endeavour.”
Stephen Boyle, auditor general for Scotland, said: “Significantly reducing the attainment gap is complex. But the pace of improvement has to increase as part of the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 recovery planning.”