Question reference: S6W-25357
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 20 February 2024
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Current status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 4 March 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Scottish National Standardised Assessments and National Standardised Assessments for Scotland reportedly do not include a calculation of pupil reading age, in light of it being recommended during specification meetings in 2015 that a functional reading age test for P7 pupils was required.
Answer
When the National Standardised Assessments for Scotland were first being developed, it was agreed in consultation with Scottish literacy experts that the reading assessments should be based on specific organisers within the Curriculum for Excellence – these being “Tools for reading”, “Finding and using information”, and “Understanding, analysing and evaluating”. This was because the relationship between the assessments and CfE was deemed a more useful output for teachers than a notional reading age.
As learners can undertake the assessments at any time in the school year, teachers are able to compare learner outcomes against a cohort of learners who completed their assessments at a similar stage in the year, rather than by age. This comparison has been statistically validated through norming studies and provides valuable diagnostic information to teachers, helping to inform their wider assessment of learner progress in literacy.