DUNCE’S CAP FOR SCOTTISH EDUCATION SECRETARY?

The main findings are:

– Scotland’s performance in the PISA assessments was above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average in reading and similar to the OECD average in maths and science. This was also the case in the previous survey, in 2018.

– Scotland’s own overall performance compared to 2018 was similar in science and declined in reading and maths.

-Scotland’s performance in maths was lower than in every previous PISA survey between 2003 and 2018. In reading, performance was lower than in 2018, 2003 and 2000 but similar to 2015, 2012, 2009 and 2006. In science, performance was similar to 2018 but lower than in 2015, 2012, 2009 and 2006.

– The proportion of pupils performing at highest levels of achievement (“Level 5 and above”) was higher in Scotland than the OECD average in reading and similar in maths and science. The proportion of pupils performing at the lowest levels of achievement (“below Level 2”) was lower in Scotland than the OECD average in reading and similar in maths and science.

– PISA measures the relationship between social background and performance, through the strength of the relationship (how much socio-economic status predicts performance) and the slope of the socio-economic gradient (the extent to which performance increases for each step in social background). In mathematics the strength and gradient of the relationship between students’ background and test scores was higher in 2022 than in 2018, and is now similar to the OECD average, having been below the average in 2018. For reading and science, the strength and gradient was similar to 2018 and to the OECD average.

Labour’s Pam Duncan Glancy and Jackie Baillie, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth and conservative Education spokesperson Liam Kerr.

The results merited six of the best for the Scottish Government from Labour whose education spokesperson Pam Duncan-Glancy said: “These results are a painful reminder of how children in Scotland are being let down by an SNP government that is out of touch and out of ideas.

“Teachers, parents and pupils are held back by ministerial dither and delay and all of us will pay the price for the missed opportunities of a generation.

“The SNP has presided over falling standards and a stubbornly wide attainment gap – and all we’ve had is excuse after excuse from a party determined not to take responsibility.

“Pupils go to school determined to make the most of their future. They deserve a government that is on the side of their ambitions.

“The time for warm words is over – too many young people have been failed by the SNP.”

Jackie Baillie MSP for Dumbarton said: “Worrying trends are developing in the Scottish education system, which was once the envy of the world.

“Unfortunately, the SNP have been guilty of presiding over a declining education system for some time and have not only failed to take definitive action to stem the tide, but have actively contributed to failing our pupils.

“The Scottish Government has decimated Pupil Attainment Funding, which was destined to help the poorest pupils in our society do better and presided over a sharp drop in specialist teachers, as the number of pupils with Additional Support Needs soars.

“Added to this the increasing violence in our schools and lack of support for teachers, as well as the lasting detrimental legacy of the Covid pandemic for a generation of Scottish children and it becomes clear that Jenny Gilruth and the SNP administration should stand at the back of the class.

The SNP is failing our pupils and Scottish Labour will continue to hold the government to account.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP, right,  said:    “This report is a valuable insight into where Scottish education stands in the world, but the most recent reports have produced some extremely worrying findings.  

“Year after year, the SNP continue to hold back and mismanage our education system. They are presiding over a yawning attainment gap, offering next to no support for teachers and failing to deliver the mental health support, tech and meals that our children need to learn.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want to ensure that every young person achieves their potential in life. That’s why we would invest in resources for teachers, tackle poor behaviour in class, reform qualifications and the education agencies and cut short-term teaching contracts to make Scottish education the best in the world again.”

Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary Liam Kerr MSP said: “These figures are a devastating indictment of the SNP’s long-term mismanagement of Scottish education.

“Nicola Sturgeon claimed that education was her number one priority, yet on her watch Scotland’s performance in both Maths and Science has plummeted to its worst ever level and is way behind that of England.

“That’s a shameful legacy and just the latest example of the disastrous impact of 16 years of SNP rule.

“Education is fully devolved to the Scottish Parliament, so the SNP have no one else to blame but themselves.

“From the attainment gap they have broken their pledge to eradicate, to rising levels of classroom violence, their record is one of abject failure, despite the best efforts of dedicated teachers.”

• Embarrassing moment on Sky News Press Preview last night when presenter Anna Botting explained that former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, who was a reviewer on the show,  would not be asked any questions about the coverage of education report because her wife,  Jenny Gilruth, is the Education Secretary for the SNP government in Scotland. Kezia Dugdale, left, is the director of the John Smith Institute at the University of Glasgow.