Pupils face ‘twice a year’ testing

Some councils continue existing exams despite roll-out of new ones

PRIMARY pupils could be tested at least twice a year under controversial council plans.

Nearly one-third of local authorities said they would continue with their own standardised assessments even when new Scottish Government tests are approved.

Last year, ministers announced controversial proposals for standardised assessments for pupils in P1, P4 and P7, as well as the third year of secondary.

The Government said it expected councils to phase out their own tests once the new tests had been developed.

However, a survey suggests at least nine councils are intending to run different tests at the same time – at least for one year.

Some councils, such as East Renfrewshire, have always said they intended to run their own assessments in tandem with new ones.

However, it is understood others are now considering the option because they have not yet seen what the new tests will look like.

The Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union, which has raised significant concerns about the impact of testing on teaching quality, warned against a “fixation” on testing.

A spokesman said: “We understand the Scottish Government is speaking to directors of education about the need to reduce the amount of standardised testing going on in some local authorities.

“Those conversations need to be resumed because it is simply not tenable that some children are going to be tested in this way.

“That will mean huge time taken away from learning and significant additional bureaucracy for teachers. Young people will be the casualties.”

Seamus Searson, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association, described the situation as “madness”.

Liz Smith, education spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservative Party, said the point of the tests was to ensure common standards across the country.

She said: “It will create both a great deal of confusion, as well as an added workload for teachers if there are wide variations of testing across local authorities.”

Iain Gray, education spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party, added: The Government’s national assessment policy has been a shambles from the beginning and teachers have no confidence in these assessments as a replacement for current practice. It is no wonder that only eight councils Scottish councils are certain they will move over to the new national assessments.”

However, a Scottish Government spokesman said the Government was working closely with councils to ensure that the new national standardised assessments met their needs and could replace the various tests councils are currently buying in.”

The survey, by the Times Educational Supplement Scotland, found only eight councils committed exclusively to the new tests.