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New survey to reduce burden on schools
06/08/2010
The key skills of literacy and numeracy will be the focus of a new annual sample survey designed to monitor pupils' achievements in primary and early secondary, which will replace a number of other statistical sampling activities and reduce the pressure of paper work on head teachers and schools.
As part of a package to cut down on bureaucracy, the new survey will replace the Scottish Survey of Achievement. It will assess pupils' progress in literacy and numeracy in alternate years to give a comprehensive overview of achievements in these two key areas of the Curriculum for Excellence.
In addition, whilst the Scottish Government will continue to participate in the OECD's PISA international education survey - widely considered the gold standard of international surveys - Scotland will come into line with the other devolved administrations by ceasing to participate in the PIRLS and TIMSS surveys.
The Scottish Government will also consult later this year on further proposals to focus on a more concentrated and coherent range of key publications and topics in school statistics.
Education Secretary Michael Russell said:
"Curriculum for Excellence is designed to allow teachers to use their skills and creativity and give them the freedom to teach. I want to underpin that enhanced responsibility by taking clear and concrete action to cut down on unnecessary and often bureaucratic paperwork.
"Clearly we will always need robust and comprehensive information on how the Scottish Education system is performing. However, we also know that collecting statistics places a burden on headteachers and teachers, meaning they have to fill in forms and collate information. This type of bureaucracy is not helping our schools, pupils or teachers.
"That's why I have been taking a critical look at the range of statistics and surveys produced by the Scottish Government, the value of the different publications, what they tell us about the education system and the burden they place on schools
"Literacy and numeracy are vital skills, that's why we need to have a robust survey which for the first time will assess the effectiveness of Scotland's approach which places improvements in literacy and numeracy at the heart of Curriculum for Excellence.
"We have decided to continue with the "PISA" international study, as it is widely recognised as the key international measure of educational achievement in maths, science and reading. But participating in three different international surveys doesn't provide value for money in the current economic climate and can lead to wasteful duplication. I am therefore proposing that we follow the lead of the other devolved administrations and cease our participation in PIRLS and TIMSS.
"I intend for these announcements to be the start of a process of change, rather than the one step. I will be consulting on the best way to ensure we collect vital information about the education system whilst further reducing the demands on schools and I expect to make another announcement by the turn of the year."
The Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy will replace the Scottish Survey of Achievement. It will support assessment approaches for Curriculum for Excellence by monitoring standards of pupils' performance in literacy and numeracy at a national level over time at P4, P7 and S2. The SSLN will report on numeracy one year and then literacy the next.
The Scottish Government will continue to take part in PISA, however, we will no longer be involved in PIRLS and TIMSS. This is in line with the approach of other devolved administrations in the United Kingdom who have never participated in PIRLS or TIMSS. This will save over £800,000 and significantly reduce the burden on schools.