Scottish schools have plummeted down international school league tables.
By Bill Heaney
Humza Yousaf admitted Scotland’s PISA school results were “poor” but still attempted to defend the SNP’s “appalling” record on education at First Minister’s Questions.
Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross said the SNP’s handling of schools is a “national disgrace”.
He called for the SNP’s Curriculum for Excellence to be scrapped after the PISA study revealed the worst-ever education performance in maths, reading and science.
Dr Keir Bloomer, an architect of the CfE, said this week: “Many factors will have contributed to this decline but it cannot be a coincidence that it has taken place during the disastrous implementation of Curriculum for Excellence and its aftermath.”
John Jerrim, professor of education at UCL, also said this week: “I think parents probably should be worried. Clearly things have not been going well in Scotland.”
Humza Yousaf insisted: “Some of the challenges we saw predate the Curriculum for Excellence.”
Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross said: “After 16 years of the SNP, Scotland’s schools now rank behind Latvia in science, Estonia in reading and Lithuania in maths.
“The SNP’s record on schools is a national disgrace. A generation of young Scots have been failed by Humza Yousaf’s party.
“The Scottish education system was once among the best in the world. On the SNP’s watch, our schools have plummeted down international school league tables.
First Minister Humza Yousaf and Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross and LibDem Alex Cole-Hamilton, who says every promise made, class sizes, laptops, the attainment gap – you name it, the SNP have broken it. And Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour leader.
“The First Minister has admitted the PISA results were ‘poor’ but his head is in the sand over the scale of the SNP’s failures. He refuses to act.
“Humza Yousaf doesn’t seem to be planning any urgent action to address these record, worst-ever PISA results. No wonder parents are worried about the future of Scotland’s schools.
“A generation of Scots have already been failed and another generation are being let down by the lack of leadership from Humza Yousaf.
“The SNP’s flawed reforms have cost Scotland our international reputation for excellence in education. They made schools less about learning. The SNP’s curriculum doesn’t value knowledge. They tried to save it with mountains of bureaucracy and only made it worse.
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See article in yesterday’s Democrat by James Halfpenny of the EIS.
Meanwhile, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today pressed the Scottish Government over declining performance in international education rankings at First Minister’s Questions.
Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “Scotland’s place in this week’s international education rankings is the worst on record and the SNP are squandering the once proud global advantage that Scotland held in education.
“What that means is that the high-wage, high-skill jobs of the future will go elsewhere while we get left behind.
“Education is half of what councils do, but this government is pushing them towards the brink of bankruptcy.
“We’ve just heard that every promise made: Class sizes, laptops, the attainment gap – you name it, the SNP have broken it.
“There are young people leaving school this year who have only ever lived under the SNP.
“So here’s a maths problem for the First Minister that will reveal the full extent of the trajectory of decline. In the education rankings the year before the SNP came to power, Scotland was awarded 506 points. This year it was awarded 471. Which is better?”
The PISA statistics can be found here.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said “This week’s PISA results demonstrate sixteen years of SNP Government failure.
“It shows standards declining in maths, science and reading, and our international position falling.
“Our education system was once the envy of the world but now – because of this Government – we lag behind.
“In 2012, Scotland had the highest-attaining students from poorer backgrounds of all four parts of the UK.
“In 2022, the most deprived in Scotland were the lowest-attaining in the UK.
“Our children and teachers are working flat out but they are being failed by this SNP Government.
“The number of children identified with additional support needs has risen from just over 36,500 in 2007 to over 240,000 now – but in this same period, the number of ASN teachers has fallen by over 200; leaving many children without the level of support they need.
“This SNP Government’s record on education is a litany of broken promises.
“Closing the attainment gap – promise broken.
“Guaranteeing class sizes of 18 or under – promise broken.
“Free school meals for all primary school pupils – promise broken.
“A digital device for every pupil – promise broken.
“Year after year, the SNP make promises to Scotland’s children, but year after year they fail to deliver.
“After 16 years there’s no one else to blame – the First Minister must apologise to the people of Scotland for destroying our once world leading education system.”