Blow for SNP school policy as PI tests are scrapped by council

ONE of the SNP’s key schools reforms was at risk of unravelling last night after a council jointly led by the party became the first to scrap its primary one tests.

Nationalist councillors in Fife – which is led by an SNP and Labour coalition – failed in their bid to have the tests retained.

Teachers, parents and unions have all raised concerns about the tests, which have left some children in tears – although some experts support them as a way of measuring pupil’s progress.

The Fife vote is a blow for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has said she is ‘strongly’ supportive of the tests and has a ‘duty’ to continue them.

In a further embarrassment for the SNP, Fife Council is to replace its scheme with tests developed south of the Border.

Last night, Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said Education Secretary John Swinney ‘has now lost control of schools policy altogether’.

He added: ‘His flagship Education Bill was binned, the Budget leaves schools facing teachers’ strikes in a matter of weeks and now his national testing is no longer national, at least in primary one. Again and again, he has refused to listen to teachers, parents and councillors charged with actually delivering education on the ground.

‘He was meant to be a safe pair of hands but he has now completely dropped the ball.’

Fife Council’s move to get rid of Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSA) for P1 pupils by next summer comes amid a longrunning row over the tests.

Critics claim they are too long and stressful for the youngest primary school children, while supporters say they are needed to keep a proper check on performance.

Fife Council’s Labour co-leader David Ross, who lodged the motion to scrap the tests, said teachers, parents and unions backed an alternative system that was used previously, the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS) method. It will replace the P1 tests in Fife.

The tests, designed at Durham University for use in Scotland, conthe sist of a sequence of questions ‘tailored to each child, moving them on when they get questions wrong and showing more challenging questions when they answer correctly’.

This is said to ‘make the assessment enjoyable, age-appropriate, engaging and time-efficient’.

Kathleen Leslie, Fife Council Tory education spokesman, said: ‘The evidence is overwhelming. These [SNSA] assessments are educationally flawed and potentially damaging to such young children.

‘Thirty-two minutes for numeracy and 44 minutes for literacy is far too long to expect a five-year-old to undergo an assessment, particularly as they bear little relation to experiences and outcomes for the early years curriculum. This is another top-down policy by the Government which is deeply flawed and poorly thought-out.

‘Over the past few weeks, I have become increasingly concerned about these assessments, which is why I have spoken against them and am delighted Fife has voted to withdraw from primary one SNSA.’

Scottish Tory education spokesman Liz Smith said: ‘These tests do not produce meaningful results – a point which is backed up by the vast majority of educationalists and teachers in early years education.

‘John Swinney should listen to local authorities and teachers and scrap P1 tests without delay.’

But Lindsay Paterson, Professor of education policy at Edinburgh University, said: ‘It is surprising that Fife, with its long and distinguished history of using standardised testing to help children to learn effectively, has chosen to withdraw from what the evidence shows is the most valid and reliable system of assessment Scotland has had’.

Mr Swinney said: ‘If Fife Council was to revert to its previous [PIPS] system, P1 pupils would face two assessments per year, rather than the single assessment they currently undertake. It is difficult to see how this would address the concerns raised around workload and pupil experience.

‘It is the opposite of what they claim they are trying to achieve and would cost taxpayers more money to double the tests P1 pupils face. That makes little sense.’

‘John Swinney has lost control’