The proportion of primary pupils achieving the expected levels in literacy and numeracy has hit the highest level on record this year, according to Scottish government figures.
The official statistics published this morning show that looking at P1, P4 and P7 pupils combined, more than seven in ten (73 per cent) achieved the expected levels for literacy in 2022-23.
This is the highest figure on record, according to the report, and compares with 71 per cent in 2021-22, 67 per cent in 2020-21 and 72 per cent in 2018-19.
In numeracy, four in every five primary pupils (80 per cent) achieved the expected levels in 2022-23. This is again higher than in any previous year and compares with 78 per cent in 2021-22, 75 per cent in 2020-21 and 79 per cent in 2018-19.
Poverty and attainment gaps
The gap between the proportion of primary pupils from the most and least deprived areas achieving expected levels in literacy has also decreased to the lowest on record in 2022-23 - but this was not the case for numeracy.
For literacy, the gap of 20.5 percentage points was the narrowest on record, while for numeracy the gap of 17 percentage points remained slightly wider than in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.
The figures also show improvements at secondary level compared to 2021-22.
For literacy as a whole, 88 per cent of S3 students achieved the expected level or better, while 90 per cent achieved this level in numeracy. In each case, this was higher than in 2021-22 by up to two percentage points. However, compared to 2018-19, the proportions were the same or slightly lower.
The Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) levels data looks at the attainment in literacy and numeracy of pupils in P1, P4 and P7, as well as secondary students in S3.
Achievement of CfE levels data is based on teachers’ professional judgements of individual pupil performance, with the Scottish National Standardised Assessments (SNSAs) used to inform that judgement.
The figures come in the wake of Scotland’s performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment 2022, published last week, when scores fell in each of its three categories: maths, science and reading.
Scottish students scored close to average across the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for maths and science, and above the OECD average for reading.
‘Clear rise in standards’
Commenting on the Achievement of CfE levels data today, education secretary Jenny Gilruth congratulated pupils and teachers on “record levels of attainment” in primary.
She said they demonstrated “a clear rise in standards above pre-pandemic levels among primary school pupils”.
The SNSAs take place in P1, P4, P7 and S3. The results are not reported but teachers are supposed to use the assessments to inform their judgements about whether or not pupils are hitting the expected level for their age and stage.
In 2021, the OECD review of CfE said while the data was interesting, “reporting it on a national scale and tracking small changes in percentages as evidence of improvement or otherwise may not be giving the system the robust data needed to monitor student achievement”.
It recommended that Scotland “redevelop a sample-based evaluation system to collect robust and reliable data necessary to support curriculum reviews and decision making”.
EIS teaching union general secretary Andrea Bradley said: “The high levels of achievement by Scotland’s pupils in this year’s Acel data are a testament to the continuing hard work of Scotland’s young people and the teaching staff in our schools.
“It is even more impressive that they have collectively achieved these levels despite the extremely challenging circumstances in which our schools continue to operate. Inadequate funding of our education system, over many years, has left our schools under-resourced and under-staffed.”
She added: “The poverty-related attainment gap still persists, damaging the educational and life chances of far too many young people across Scotland.
“With around one child in four living in deprivation across Scotland, facing poverty and hunger and all the challenges that these experiences bring on a daily basis, we need increased resources in schools to allow all young people to be supported properly.”
