Hansard

I am glad that we have this opportunity to debate standardised assessments, after weeks of those of us who speak on education debating the issue outside Parliament.

As the Deputy First Minister made clear, the Scottish Greens have long been clear that we oppose the policy. He was not correct to say, however, that in supporting Liz Smith’s motion we support standardised assessments. Members will not find that phrase in the motion. I will read the first part of it. It says:

“That the Parliament believes that good-quality pupil assessment is an essential component of the drive to raise educational standards in Scotland's schools”.

We agree, but we do not believe that that assessment should take place through the formal standardised assessments. There is no contradiction there, and I will explain why as I go through my speech.

There has been much talk of manifestos. In our 2016 manifesto—a fine read that I would recommend to the Government—we unequivocally opposed the return of standardised assessments, and not just for four and five-year-olds. We welcome the parliamentary majority that has now formed around that position with regard specifically to the P1 assessments.

The Scottish Government has been keen, including in this debate, to say that the policy is evidence based, but it was international best practice and evidence that led the Greens to oppose standardised testing in the first place. To tick off one particular cliché of education debates, I note that Finland is one of the undisputed success stories of education reform. It turned from being mediocre, at best, in the 1980s to being a model of excellence from the early 2000s onwards. Although a range of factors have contributed to its success—most obviously, lower levels of inequality and poverty have supported its success in education—its approach to standardised tests are part of that success story.

Finnish education was reformed to allow teachers the freedom to assist pupils based on their own best judgment. Standardised testing was dropped and replaced by an emphasis on continuous informal assessment of the individual needs of each pupil. Our Education and Skills Committee visited Finland earlier this year, and during that visit we were all struck by the culture of trust in its system—particularly trust in classroom teachers, with proper resourcing, support and training, to come to their own judgments about their pupils. That is what we need in Scotland, particularly for children with additional support needs, for whom the tests cause even more unnecessary anxiety.

Well-trained teachers and well-staffed schools are what we need in order to ensure that every additional need is identified and supported. That means reversing the cuts that have seen educational psychologists, and the grants associated with studying on that course, disappear.

The reason why Finland took the approach that it did is that, although some standardised assessments may provide some data that can be useful—a criticism that has been levelled against Scotland’s assessments is that they do not provide that—the very presence of the tests and the impact that they have on pupil experience and teaching is a net negative. Pupils often react badly to the tests. Some experience anxiety and fear. In others, they elicit boredom. We knew that already. There were warnings from the Scottish Government’s international advisers before the policy was introduced.

Professor Andy Hargreaves, who is a member of the Scottish Government’s international council of education experts, highlighted the fear and anxiety that standardised tests cause pupils. Other academics, the EIS and the experience of individual teachers and pupils have all confirmed that. We have all heard the reports of young children in some cases being reduced to the point of tears and experiencing huge anxiety over the tests, but teachers are also pressured, whether intentionally or not, to teach to the test. As Iain Gray explained, the focus becomes hitting some pre-defined metric regardless of its suitability to the pupil that the teacher knows, and knows best. The professional judgment of individual teachers, which is one of the principles that underpins the curriculum of excellence—and one that we all agree on—is undermined by the policy.

The Deputy First Minister can give all the assurances that he likes on how standardised tests will be used, but the very presence of the assessments creates the pressure to teach to them, rather than emphasising the needs of individual pupils.

Teachers are concerned that the results of assessments far beyond the primary 1 level will be used by senior management and others to form judgments on their professional abilities, because the data can be aggregated to a class level. That is what creates the pressure to teach to the test. There are also well-grounded fears that, although there is no intention—for now—to return to league tables, that sets the groundwork for future league tables, and informal tables may begin to emerge. The presence of standardised tests pushes education to become target driven at a level that is abstracted from the needs of individual pupils.

This cuts straight to the heart of what we want Scottish education to be. Do we want a culture of repeated formal assessments and pressure being heaped on pupils throughout their school lives or a culture of tailored support that recognises the capability of individual students and relies on teachers’ professional judgment to foster their learning, as the curriculum for excellence intends?

What I find particularly frustrating about the introduction of the standardised tests is that all the issues that I have highlighted were already well known. As I mentioned, members of the Scottish Government’s international council of education experts have been at the forefront of some of the criticisms. I appreciate that there are some experts, including on the Government’s council, who support approaches of standardised assessments. The Government has drawn attention to a number of them. I respect their views and I do not for a second doubt their expertise in the field. However, the question that must be asked is why the Government is ignoring the other assembled experts. Why is it ignoring the voices of teachers and pupils, and of people in Scottish education who are saying that there is a problem?

Just this morning, the Education and Skills Committee heard from Professor Jim Scott, as Oliver Mundell mentioned. He said that he had not seen sufficient evidence that the assessments are beneficial. We also heard from Dr Alan Britton, who said that he has not seen evidence of consultation and consensus-building on this policy. That is a polite understatement if I have ever heard one.

Teachers, parents and education charities have all raised concerns and called for the P1 tests to be scrapped. After today’s debate, a majority of members of this Parliament could be added to the ever-growing list of those calling for a rethink. While many of us have concerns far beyond P1 assessments, that is what the debate is focused on.

I urge the Deputy First Minister to walk back his previously stated intentions to ignore the will of this Parliament. After the shambles of his proposed education bill, the majority of which he will now attempt to force through without a Parliamentary mandate, Mr Swinney is developing a reputation for casting aside the views of elected members as well as those of experts, teachers, parents and pupils.

That is no way to build a successful system of education, and it is certainly not building a consensus. It will result in the opposite of Finland’s culture of trust. Today we will give him an opportunity to take a different tack. For the sake of teachers and pupils currently experiencing this failed policy, I hope that he will listen.