The Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSAs) for P1 children should be scrapped and money spent instead on air filters for classrooms, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have said.
Literacy and maths SNSAs take place in Scottish schools at P1, P4, P7 and S3, with the results designed to gauge progress and assess whether pupils need additional support. However, they have been controversial since their introduction, with many teachers sceptical about whether the assessments provide any significant benefits.
Earlier this week, Tes Scotland revealed that a new contractor has been brought on board to deliver Scotland’s standardised national assessments in literacy and numeracy, with the cost to the taxpayer expected to be £17 million over five years.
And last week first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that £5 million of new funding had been made available to improve ventilation in Scottish schools and nurseries.
Willie Rennie, Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson, has now called for the Scottish government to end P1 SNSAs standardised and divert their funding towards better ventilation.
He said: “Scottish Liberal Democrats and education campaigners won a hard-fought parliamentary victory to call for the scrapping of standardised testing of P1 pupils.
“In response, the flailing government claimed that the tests were endorsed by the OECD [Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development], yet the OECD are clear that they now recommend scrapping them.
“There is no evidence that they improve schooling and there is persistent criticism from professional teachers.”
Mr Rennie added: “Rather than spend millions more on standardised testing, Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see this money used to put an air filter in every classroom.
“This would make classrooms safer, have a long-term benefit in terms of reducing cold and flu outbreaks and allow us to eliminate the need for masks much faster.”
Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville last week said that schools had made few major changes to improve ventilation in classrooms because councils “have been reassured that what is in place is adequate”.
She told the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee that there had been “limited action” required to improve airflow in classrooms, and she was not aware of any cases where councils were unable to make improvements because of a lack of money.
Ms Somerville’s comments followed the announcement from first minister Nicola Sturgeon of £5 million extra capital funding for “any remedial work that councils need to do to improve airflow and comply with the new guidance”.
The latest Scottish government guidance recommends that teachers rely primarily on opening external doors and windows for fresh air, but that they should “balance requirements for ventilation with internal temperatures and conditions” during the winter.
