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Every contribution to the Official Report — chamber and committee — searchable in one place. Pulled from data.parliament.scot, indexed for full-text search, linked through to every MSP.

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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.

Tavish Scott LD Committee

Scottish National Standardised Assessments Inquiry

Okay. It was an unfair question about the one tenth. The point is, how important are the assessments? That is the point that Alasdair Allan has been driving at. What the EIS says rather supports your contention that we are all getting too obsessed with the assessments. It says...

The Minister for Transport (Tavish Scott): LD Committee

Airdrie-Bathgate Railway and Linked Improvements Bill: Preliminary Stage

First, convener, it is a delight to be here. We have just been discussing who Sir John Wilson was and the origins of this hall, which is named after him. We talked to some local people and gathered that he was a famous man in these parts. All that has given me two seconds to t...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Glasgow Airport Rail Link Bill: Preliminary Stage

That is exactly why it is important to put the figure in context—it is 0.5 per cent of all the traffic that currently uses the M8. It might be better to ascertain how many motor vehicles go to Glasgow airport—I presume that there are figures for that—and how many of those vehi...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Glasgow Airport Rail Link Bill: Preliminary Stage

The best answer to that is to look at the projections in the aviation white paper; I am sure that it has been shared with the committee and it is certainly in the public domain. Those are Department for Transport assessments of the growth of air travel across the UK and in a w...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Budget Process 2006-07

There are a couple of aspects to consider. Mr Ewing was on the Finance Committee when we discussed issues relating to the infrastructure investment plan, so I know that he recognises that an important aspect of the Executive's decision to create and commit to an infrastructure...

Tavish Scott LD Chamber

Economy and Recovery

I find that intervention puzzling, because I sat in at a meeting, to which Mr Swinney’s ministerial colleague Mr Fergus Ewing invited me and Liam McArthur—it was good of him to do so—at which Mr Ewing rightly described the proposals from the Office of the Gas and Electricity M...

Tavish Scott LD Committee

Scottish National Standardised Assessments Inquiry

I agree, but do you not think that that is a danger, simply because of the pressure to close the attainment gap and all the things about the national picture that have been said by education secretaries and so on? Do you not think that it is inevitable that the pressure will b...

Tavish Scott LD Committee

Scottish National Standardised Assessments Inquiry

I would like Liverpool to win the league, but we do not get everything that we wish for. I have a question on the topic that Alasdair Allan has been asking about. The EIS submission tells us what Scottish Government officials said when they introduced testing in Scottish educ...

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Committee

Scottish National Standardised Assessments Inquiry

Perhaps I could start with a question about purpose. Professor Hayward, in your very helpful submission, for which I am grateful, you say: “These three main purposes interact in any national assessment system. Any action taken in one area will have an impact on the other area...

Tavish Scott LD Committee

Scottish National Standardised Assessments Inquiry

I quite understand that. In your view, the Government, or those who are promoting the best motives behind standardised assessments, need to be very clear about what the purpose is. Has that purpose been established? Keir Bloomer, in your opening remarks you suggested that it h...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Disability Inquiry

Thank you—I understand the point that is being made. On the rail network, at both Network Rail stations and First ScotRail stations, there is a programme of improving accessibility. We can provide you with the numbers behind that work if that would be helpful, although I hope ...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

I will let Mike Garden deal with the question, but I take the point, to which I think you are alluding, about the consistency of approach that should be taken by consultants. I trust that the same statistical base would be used by all consultants that make assessments under th...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Budget Process 2005-06

I do not underestimate the seriousness of the point. However, I suggest that the committee would get better answers to specific questions about health policy from Messrs Chisholm or McCabe; they are the ministers who have responsibility for health.I accept that the issue cuts ...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Budget Process 2005-06

If Mr Purvis is referring to the collection of data that assess how well we spend money, as opposed to other assessments or data-collection processes, I entirely take that point. As Deputy Minister for Finance and Public Services, I certainly believe that we would be immeasura...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Glasgow Airport Rail Link Bill: Preliminary Stage

An advantage of my job is that I occasionally get to travel in the front of a train. Relatively recently, at the convener's invitation, I took a train from Glasgow Central station to Ayrshire, to consider infrastructure in that part of Scotland. The purpose of my visit was not...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Glasgow Airport Rail Link Bill: Preliminary Stage

Those are questions that we would have to deal with at the time, but I hope that the situation will not arise. I strongly believe that it is in BAA's interests to invest in the rail link. There are significant rail links at BAA's other main airports, particularly in the London...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Glasgow Airport Rail Link Bill: Preliminary Stage

Damian Sharp can deal with the issue of patronage assessments and the length of the day during which the service will operate. Andrew Arbuckle asked about the on-going revenue costs of the service to the whole franchise. If we had a blank piece of paper and no budgetary worrie...

The Minister for Transport (Tavish Scott): LD Committee

Glasgow Airport Rail Link Bill: Consideration Stage

As I have said previously, there is nothing in the bill that would hinder the crossrail project, and vice versa. Each project is based on a separate assessment. GARL has been through the process, has been presented to the committee and is being properly considered by Parliamen...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Glasgow Airport Rail Link Bill: Consideration Stage

Yes, that is still the case. I do not think that I can add to the points that we discussed a little earlier in our evidence. I reiterate the fallback position, which is that if there were any significant issues that should appropriately be presented to Parliament, that would h...

The Deputy Minister for Finance and Public Services (Tavish Scott): LD Committee

Budget Process 2005-06

It is a pleasure to be here once again to consider the budget and to talk about stage 1 of the budget process—the "Annual Evaluation Report 2005-06", which is a development of the way in which we seek to present financial information to Parliament.On that theme, the Executive ...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Licensing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

About a month ago, I spent a Friday night in Glasgow city centre with Strathclyde police. Between the early stage of the evening and 3 am, when many people leave nightclubs, the two sergeants who were taking us around showed us a video of precisely that type of incident, which...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Budget Process 2006-07

I will get John Ewing to deal with the detail of that, because he was the lead officer in pulling those figures together. By definition, there will be figures above and below the average for the Executive. Some portfolios, including transport, are below the average figure. I w...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Subordinate Legislation

The short answer is that we are waiting for clarification on both those issues. We look to the RTPs. There has been a process with which the committee will be familiar. We await assessments of both the transitional and the transfer costs. We will be happy to write to the commi...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Transport and Works (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

That is a reasonable and fair assessment of how time efficiency can be brought into the process. It is important to reflect on the fact that in carrying out its work, the inquiry reporters unit must ensure—and this is the Government's job—that the resources are available, in p...

The Minister for Transport and Telecommunications (Tavish Scott): LD Committee

Waverley Railway (Scotland) Bill: Consideration Stage

Good morning. You caught me slightly early—I was in the depths of something else. I am happy to deal with the committee's questions this morning. I guess that the building of social rented housing or private housing will be a matter for the local authority and those who are in...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Waverley Railway (Scotland) Bill: Consideration Stage

The promoter might well have that view. In our assessment of the rigour of the business case, there are three important checks, which should be in the memorandum to which you refer and which I have set out in Parliament many times for other schemes. We allow for on-going work ...

Tavish Scott: LD Committee

Waverley Railway (Scotland) Bill: Consideration Stage

I hope that the committee does not expect me to say anything other than exactly what I have said in the past about the project. We have made absolutely clear what our financial commitment is to the project and that is that. Therefore, I hope that there will be no shortfall bec...

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): LD Chamber

I know that you, Presiding Officer, have some personal interest in fisheries and that you know some of the leading lights in Shetland—my part of the world. I was reflecting on that last night as I went through fisheries papers. The fishing industry in Shetland is crucial and i...

Tavish Scott: LD Chamber

Question Time · Crown Estate (Meetings)

I am pleased about that. Is the minister aware that the Crown Estate removes £1 million per annum from salmon farms in Shetland and many millions of pounds per annum from salmon farms throughout Scotland? On the grounds of rural development, will she consider the proposals tha...

The Minister for Transport and Telecommunications (Tavish Scott): LD Chamber

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE · A68 Dalkeith Northern Bypass

The route of the bypass was confirmed in 1993. The orders are made and there are no plans to revisit the matter. Revised estimates for the scheme are being prepared by the transport division's consultants, who are also reviewing the impact assessments.

Tavish Scott: LD Chamber

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE · A68 (Environmental Impact Assessment)

I am disappointed that Mr Ballard has got it wrong at two question times—he tried to suggest that course of action previously. The Greens appear to be against a measure that would dramatically improve congestion in Dalkeith. They cannot have it both ways. Mr Ballard needs to b...

Tavish Scott: LD Chamber

Public Transport Projects

Last night, I read with interest the weighty tome that is the Enterprise and Culture Committee's report and I agreed with much of it. It is a substantial piece of work and a useful contribution to the debate on economic growth within and outwith Scotland. I welcome the report'...

Tavish Scott: LD Chamber

Highland Transport Links

I do not want to be drawn into a different debate. Mr Stevenson raises a serious point. The financing of roads and other transport projects is a serious issue, but it is not an issue for this evening. I will simply observe that, whether Mr Stevenson's model or the PPP model is...

Tavish Scott: LD Chamber

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE · Road Traffic Levels 2021

We will strongly work towards meeting it. Under the national transport strategy—I hope that Mr Ballard might give us some credit for this—we will develop a carbon balance sheet to develop the carbon impact of projects and policies. That measure is very much designed to make pr...

Tavish Scott: LD Chamber

Forth and Tay Bridges Tolls

It is entirely fair for Helen Eadie and other members to argue for the economic and traffic modelling assessments to be as robust as possible. Indeed, members across the chamber, including Mrs Eadie, made that very point during last Easter's debate on this subject. At the time...

Tavish Scott: LD Chamber

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE · Health Facilities (Public Transport Links)

I agree with Paul Martin's central point about the need for transport links to be available, accessible and affordable to the people who need to travel to attend the health facilities to which he referred. National health service boards are required to work in partnership with...

Tavish Scott: LD Chamber

Holding the SNP Government<br />to Account

If Mr Crawford had described my amendment fairly, I would agree with him, but he exaggerated our request. The amendment—which he should read, instead of reading the exaggerations that his special advisers have written for him—simply highlights the importance of committees and...

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): LD Chamber

Financial Outturn 2007-08

I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of his statement, which will be, we presume, the last before the summer recess. Rather than the unforeseen, which Mr Brownlee mentioned, I want to ask Mr Swinney about a number of foreseeable issues that he will have to deal with...

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): LD Chamber

Politics is a harsh place and being a cabinet minister in charge of a Government department is a hard job, but it was clear that the previous minister could not continue as the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning. We need a fresh approach on education. In one...

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Committee

Section 23 Report

I want to ask about contract compliance and the management of risk in contracts. Obviously, those matters are a significant part of your on-going assessments of how well the project is moving forward. What role, if any, does the sponsoring department—in other words, central Go...

Tavish Scott LD Committee

Section 23 Report

I have a question following Willie Coffey’s very fair observation about what we can do to ensure that matters that we have considered come back to us so that we can properly assess them. In his correspondence, Paul Gray deals very sensibly and constructively with the report’...

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Chamber

Commonwealth Games (Legacy)

I start by joining with James Dornan and colleagues across the chamber in the collective love-in for all those who made Glasgow 2014 work. It was, without question, a great achievement and, in judging the legacy, I suspect that much good will come of them in sporting and econo...

Tavish Scott LD Chamber

Agriculture (Challenges and Opportunities)

Yeah—right. It has been a very useful debate. I begin by making a couple of points about what other members have said. After having the temerity—as some would see it—to raise the issue of GM crops, Alex Fergusson was then landed on by a number of members from across the chamb...

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Chamber

I found a Duncan McNeil speech last night when I was looking forward to this debate. I had some inkling that he would give some thoughts on his very distinguished time in Parliament. In November 2000, he congratulated a good friend of his on becoming the Deputy Minister for Sp...

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Chamber

Education (Delivery Plan for Excellence and Equity)

I thank the cabinet secretary for the courtesy of issuing his statement in advance. Will he clarify how reducing the excessive workload on teachers that he has mentioned can happen when he has described national assessments, to be measured by his Government, on pupils in P1,...

Tavish Scott LD Committee

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2017-18 (Education Scotland)

On Liz Smith’s point, my understanding is that, when the changes to unit assessments were published in September, the announcement of that was made by you, Dr Maxwell, in your capacity as chief inspector. That is what is on the piece of paper that went to all schools, which I ...

Tavish Scott LD Committee

Pre-budget Scrutiny 2017-18 (Education Scotland)

However, to continue Liz Smith’s point, the letter that you issued to schools about assessments was issued under your title of chief inspector, which means that they will treat it as a statement of absolute writ that they had better follow or else. There is a clear conflict.

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Chamber

Sea Fisheries and End-year Negotiations

I am very pleased to see the cabinet secretary here. I must confess that I was quite worried when, like Peter Chapman, I read The Press and Journal on Tuesday morning, as there was a very fetching photograph in it of Mr Ewing in Mr Stevenson’s constituency with his foot at a j...

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Chamber

Education (Improvement Plan)

Is the Government’s answer to the international figures that were published last week, which show that Scotland’s educational performance is falling, the national standardised assessments for pupils that the cabinet secretary has talked about, and reform of schools and local g...

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Chamber

Teacher Training Programme

The essence of the evidence that has been given to the Education and Skills Committee in the past two weeks on teacher education—we were reminded today to call it “teacher education”, not “teacher training”—has been about preparing teachers for an unknown world. I agree broadl...

Tavish Scott LD Chamber

Sea Fisheries and End-year Negotiations

That, of course, will be right. Laughter. However, I meant the annual debate on the negotiations, in the lead-up to Christmas, rather than the many others that Mr Stevenson rightly says that we have had. Mr Ewing set out an entirely fair assessment of the current position lea...

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Chamber

Scottish National Standardised Assessments

I, too, thank the cabinet secretary for the advance copy of his statement. I must say that I profoundly disagree with the contention that testing five-year-old boys and girls is consistent with play-based learning. Far more important than my view is the fact that many educati...

7. Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Chamber

First Minister’s Question Time · Scottish National Standardised Assessments

To ask the First Minister, in light of the comment by the Educational Institute of Scotland that the recent review’s recommendations “will do little to allay the very serious concerns held by many teachers”, whether the Scottish Government plans further changes to the Scottish...

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Chamber

Education (Primary 1 National Standardised Assessments)

I thank the Deputy First Minister for his statement. The review that the Deputy First Minister has mentioned previously was steered by Education Scotland—by those who were the unequivocal backers of testing four and five-year-old boys and girls in primary 1. What will be diff...

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Chamber

Fisheries Negotiations

With a week to go before the December EU fisheries council negotiations and with the EU-Faroes bilateral negotiations taking place as we speak, today’s debate in the Scottish Parliament should be about following the fish, not following the Prime Minister around Europe. I am no...

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD) LD Committee

Scottish National Standardised Assessments Inquiry

I would like to try to understand what you said to Mr Gray about norms. I will try to interpret what you said. A norm is a benchmark. Are you suggesting that the norming studies on the tests—I think that you suggested to Mr Gray that the norming studies are now going to be don...

Tavish Scott LD Committee

Scottish National Standardised Assessments Inquiry

What is the other way?

Tavish Scott LD Committee

Scottish National Standardised Assessments Inquiry

Which one will be used, then?

Tavish Scott LD Committee

Scottish National Standardised Assessments Inquiry

I am sorry, but I just do not understand what the Government is trying to achieve. I think that that is why we have all been asking questions about the purpose. Is it about teacher judgment, or is it about the national performance of schools?

Tavish Scott LD Committee

Scottish National Standardised Assessments Inquiry

No, but you said there was a proposal to the Government on producing information to allow it to make a national assessment of what is happening in education, which will have to happen every couple of years because—as Iain Gray said—schools are not doing the tests at the same t...

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Committee

Education and Skills Committee 09 January 2019

09 Jan 2019 · S5 · Education and Skills Committee

Item of business

Scottish National Standardised Assessments Inquiry

Scott, Tavish LD Shetland Islands Watch on SPTV

Okay. It was an unfair question about the one tenth. The point is, how important are the assessments? That is the point that Alasdair Allan has been driving at. What the EIS says rather supports your contention that we are all getting too obsessed with the assessments. It says that only one tenth of the skills and knowledge that a pupil gains at each CFE level is helped by the assessments.

In the same item of business

The Convener SNP

Agenda item 3 is the Scottish national standardised assessments inquiry. This is the first week of our inquiry and we will hear from a panel of witnesses tha...

Mhairi Shaw (Association of Directors of Education in Scotland)

Good morning, convener. I am a director of education and oversee SNSAs in East Renfrewshire; I am not directly involved in them. As a member of ADES, I conti...

Juliette Mendelovits (Australian Council for Educational Research)

Until October 2018, I was the research director and general manager of ACER UK, which is a registered company in the United Kingdom and a wholly-owned subsid...

Professor Sue Ellis (University of Strathclyde)

I was involved in early meetings about assessment as a result of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report on “Closing the attainment gap in Scottish schools”. I...

Professor Christine Merrell (Durham University)

Until 1 July 2018, I was director of research in Durham University’s centre for evaluation and monitoring, which provides standardised assessments as part of...

The Convener SNP

Liz Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con) Con

Before we get into the detail of the evidence that the witnesses have submitted, I note that the Parliament is generally interested in the criteria that make...

Professor Merrell

First and foremost, we have to consider the needs of stakeholders and establish the primary purpose of the assessments, before we get into the technical deta...

Professor Ellis

We have to start with the idea that any assessment is a tool and that it takes time for professionals to learn how to use it; how to use it well; what it can...

Mhairi Shaw

The criteria have to be based on what will make learning and teaching better; any information should help to inform teachers and young people and children an...

Juliette Mendelovits

I suppose that the focus of Liz Smith’s question was on assuring the community of the quality of the assessments. In that respect, the quality of the assessm...

Liz Smith Con

Thank you. My colleagues will go into some of those specific aspects. My second question has two parts. First, do you feel that there is a set of data that ...

Professor Ellis

I go in and out of local authorities and schools a lot and I talk to teachers, headteachers, local authority improvement officers and directors of education....

Liz Smith Con

Would you equate the term “unethical” with “misuse”? Is that what you are saying?

Professor Ellis

Yes. Some of the uses of standardised tests and non-standardised tests—local authority-devised tests—that I see happening in schools are not ethical. I see t...

Johann Lamont (Glasgow) (Lab) Lab

May I ask a question?

The Convener SNP

I want to let the other panel members respond before I bring you in, Ms Lamont. Does anyone else want to respond to that point?

Liz Smith Con

Is there any more data that we need that we do not have?

Professor Merrell

Yes, there is a lot. Are you thinking about what schools need or what could be done in the Government?

Liz Smith Con

I am thinking of what the schools need, because they deliver the assessments. Is there any data that you think is missing when it comes to our ability to pro...

Professor Merrell

Assessments can be done at time points that are different from those for the national assessments. I have examples of schools that do that. They collect info...

Liz Smith Con

That will give good results, which is the key thing. The nub of the issue is which assessment process is giving the best results.

Professor Merrell

Yes. That system is giving the best results, and it is not too onerous on the child or the teacher. That was one nice example. As we go up through the prima...

Professor Ellis

That matters when schools respond to data in ways that are not appropriate.

Juliette Mendelovits

One piece of information that will be really useful to schools and the wider education community is the mapping of progress over time. That work has been ini...

Johann Lamont Lab

On the question of whether something is ethical, if it is not ethical to get information about a child and decide how you then support a child, or presume ho...

Professor Ellis

Any short assessment can give you only a snapshot of where a child is at that one time. If you use that snapshot to make systemic changes to how that child i...

Johann Lamont Lab

The concern is therefore not about the support but about the child not being able to move on from the support.

Professor Ellis

The school that I have seen making the best use of standardised assessment is in Woodlands primary school in Linwood. It makes hard use of assessment data to...

Johann Lamont Lab

Would that not be true of standardised assessments as well?