Scotland’s teachers have rounded on Nicola Sturgeon for failing to rule out a return to primary school testing.
The First Minister was attacked by the Educational Institute of Scotland after she dropped a heavy hint at Holyrood that such measures may be introduced.
It is regarded as directly contradicting the spirit of the new Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), introduced by the Scottish Government to encourage more autonomy for schools.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said there was a need for a “new system of primary testing” similar to that used in Denmark and Ontario “so that we all can see which schools need help and which schools are leading the way”.
Ms Sturgeon admitted she was frustrated at being unable to outline the performance of primary pupils as her Government’s record on education came under fire at Holyrood.
The suggestion of added assessment was met with short shrift from EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan, who said CfE was “an explicit rejection of the shallow testing, target setting, league table approach”.
He added: “Frankly, it would be a betrayal of CfE, and all the effort that teachers have made to introduce this much praised reform, if the Scottish Government was to revert to a failed approach from the past.”
For our full report, see Friday’s Courier.