24 February 2010
Immediate release
 
TWO-THIRDS OF S2 PUPILS FAIL TO REACH WRITING STANDARDS

TORY ADMINISTRATION’S EDUCATION CUTS SET TO MAKE THINGS WORSE

Dumfries MSP Elaine Murray is calling on the Scottish Government to make literacy a national priority and take the steps necessary to ensure every child across Dumfries and Galloway leaves school able to read, write and count.

She was speaking in response to a major survey of educational achievement released by the Scottish government, which concluded that two-thirds of 13-year-olds fail to reach expected standards of writing.

Elaine Murray MSP said: “We’re talking about the basic skills of reading, writing and numeracy that our children will need to progress in the world. It is shocking that across Scotland two-thirds of S2 pupils are failing to reach expected standards of writing. We owe it to the next generation of Scots to tackle this problem urgently. The only way to do this is recognise the scale of the problem and meet it head on by making literacy an over-riding priority, refusing to tolerate a lack of basic skills. The work of the Literacy Commission showed us what we need to do - the job of the government now is to implement the Commission's recommendations which include providing targeted resources to support pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and schools serving areas of multiple deprivation. Early intervention, dedicated support for learning, using the right techniques and getting assessment right are the vital pre-requisites if we are to improve standards to an acceptable level.

“The fact the numbers of pupils reaching level E appears to decline by 10% between P7 and S2 is also concerning. It highlights an issue that secondary teachers have long complained about - that the assessment of attainment level of pupils transferring from primary schools is optimistic rather than realistic. Surely this is a problem that must be ironed out. Getting the assessment right is vital if we are to correctly identify and meet the needs of pupils. We cannot afford to waste the first two years of secondary education. Consistency of assessment standards between primary and secondary schools is vital. Improved co-ordination could boost the percentage of pupils reaching the standard expected at S2. We cannot allow a situation where only 40% of pupils reach level E in reading and 60% fail to reach the national standard."

“'This survey is a wake-up call. Our education system is under severe financial pressure and attainment standards are slipping. The Scottish government must set out a clear and immediate response to the finding of this report, showing how it will address the problem of poor attainment especially in literacy and numeracy. It must bring forward the Action Plan on Literacy that Parliament agreed as a matter of urgency and it must get to grips with the drift that has overtaken the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence. We cannot allow so many of our young people to slip through the educational net.”

Dumfries and Galloway Labour Group’s Education Spokesman Cllr Jeff Leaver added: “These figures are very concerning and we need to urgently tackle it head on. Unfortunately the Tory Council’s cuts to education in the region contained in their budget can only make things worse. The Tory’s raid on our schools’ budgets means they are going to have to do more with fewer teachers and less cash.”

ENDS

CONTACT – ANDREW MACKENZIE 07769206856

NOTES TO EDITOR

The Scottish Survey of Achievement is a measure of the levels attained by more than 13,000 pupils, aged between seven and 14, at almost 400 schools.

As well as testing reading standards, teachers were invited to submit a piece of writing that reflected pupils' current levels.

The results were measured between April and June last year.

The survey indicates performance steadily declines after primary three when almost all are achieving what is expected at that age. It found that almost all pupils in primary three were assessed at the expected level for writing - and by P5 the majority of pupils were at or above the level for P6.

However, by P7 almost half of pupils were below standard and by the second year of high school (S2) just a third of pupils were meeting expectations.

Pupils are a little better at reading, with about 40% "well-established" or better than the expected level for S2. Researchers said reading levels had been largely static since 2005.

In general, girls performed better than boys in reading. The proportion of pupils in the most deprived areas with 'well-established' or better reading skills at the expected level was around 20 percentage points less than for pupils in less deprived areas, across all stages

Link to survey: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/02/22135127/0