The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser closing on Friday, primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland - a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson
By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS
From BBC Scotland today:
The attainment gap between Scotland’s richest and poorest school pupils increased last year, according to new figures. The Scottish government has said since 2015 that closing this gap – between the level of national qualifications obtained by children from the most affluent and the least affluent areas – is its priority.
Professor Lindsay Paterson, from Edinburgh University, said the closure of schools during the Covid pandemic was one reason for the attainment gap getting worse in Scotland.
He added that there was nothing intrinsically wrong with pupils leaving after S4 as long as they have something worthwhile to go to.
Prof Paterson, an agriculture bean-counter (OK researcher), with no experience in schools or teacher education, brought into the teacher training department at Moray House, to help the other staff write-up research with big numbers in, is a rentagob for the media, including the English media, to diss his own country’s system.
He may know FA about education but he does know that these one year changes are both statistically insignificant and cannot yet be called a trend unless continued for 5 or so years.
Here are the published figures:
- 83.5 per cent of school leavers left with one pass or more at SCQF Level 5 or better in National Qualifications in 2023-24. This is a decrease from 2022-23 (84.8 per cent).
- 57.4 per cent of school leavers left with one pass or more at SCQF Level 6 or better in National Qualifications in 2023-24. This is a slight decrease from 2022-23 (57.9 per cent)
A 1.3% and 0.5% decrease may well mean nothing. We need to wait a few years.
As for the gaps:
- The gap between the proportion of school leavers from the most and least deprived areas attaining 1 pass or more in National Qualifications at SCQF Level 4 or better was 7.3 percentage points. This is wider than in 2022-23, when it was 5.9 percentage points. This is due to a decrease among school leavers from the most deprived areas between and no change among school leavers from the least deprived areas.
- The gap between the proportion of school leavers from the most and least deprived areas attaining 1 pass or more in National Qualifications at SCQF Level 5 or better was 22.7 percentage points in 2023-24. This is wider than in 2022-23 (20.2 percentage points). This is due to a decrease among school leavers from both the most and the least deprived areas over the last year, with a larger decrease in the most deprived areas.
- for the proportion of school leavers attaining 1 pass or more in National Qualifications at SCQF Level 6 or better the gap was 38.4 percentage points in 2023-24. This is wider than in 2022-23 (36.9 percentage points). This is due to a decrease among school leavers from the most deprived areas and an increase among those from the least deprived areas.
You see those bits that I’ve emboldened. Prof Paterson knows just what they mean. They mean that you cannot compare the gaps between the two years, meaningfully. BBC Scotland’s Lucy Adams just took those bits out – they spoiled her story.
Not only are these supposed increases not significant, BBC Scotland and Paterson have ignored the wider facts. These:
Finally, see that last quote from Prof Paterson?
He added that there was nothing intrinsically wrong with pupils leaving after S4 as long as they have something worthwhile to go to.
Right at the beginning of the official report:
95.7 per cent of 2023-24 school leavers were in a positive initial destination. This is a small decrease from 2022-23 (95.9 per cent) and the second highest figure (alongside 2021-22) since consistent records began in 2009-10.
95.7% not good enough?
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Unfortunately too many people believe what the English BBC and faux Scottish BBC tells them. Propaganda works, scary.
The 95.7% of school leavers going into work or training etc, is an amazing figure. Well done ScotGov SNP! The other few % are evry likley people with learning disabilities and/or autism, or other health issues that can impact their life choices.
Every single positive SNP policy will be completely reversed on day one should any BritNat/EngNat party take control of Holyrood in 2026. A terrifying thought, and that prof Paterson is a disgrace to the Scottish education system and to Scotland’s young people, for his disgraceful misrepresentation of the facts. Very UNPROFESSIONAL to say the least!
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another thorough debunking of BBC article, long gone are the days of BBC impartiality- if it ever was there in the first place. The internet means it has nowhere to hide – thanks for all your efforts in highlighting their obvious propaganda
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Paterson is only one of many, many unionist apparatchiks who have a media season ticket to diss Scotland , regardless of the situation up here being better or , at least , equivalent with similar conditions down South .
The list is a Who’s Who of the mealy-mouthed , the hypocritical , the untalented , the dishonest …and that is just Damn Jaikie Baillie , a woman who speaks her own weight of misinformation about Scotland’s NHS before breakfast .
Well done , John , for exposing this particular weasel , Paterson . Clearly he is no friend of Scotland’s Education system as he takes a similar slanted view of stats as the BBC – viz. there are NEVER any good stats to be found about any Scottish institution .
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‘diss his own country’s system.’
In this context, does Scotland’s main teaching Union, the EIS agree that its members are working in – are working hard but contributing to – a failing system? Does it ever have anything to say about negative press coverage such as this?
If the EIS agrees with Professor Paterson and his relentless negativity about Scotland’s school education then it should say so – and if not, should it not say so? Does it not have a role in defending the teaching profession it represents? If it does dispute Paterson’s constant negativity – aggregated and amplified for the ‘benefit’ of the public in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK by the mainstream media – does it not have a role on behalf of the profession it represents to comment?
Moreover, is the EIS as dismissive of the significance of initial positive destination statistics as Paterson seems to be, despite the considerable efforts of EIS members in secondary schools to ensure the performance against this metric is so high?
Would the attitude of the EIS leadership be different if there was a Labour government in Edinburgh – or have I become too cynical?
And finally, is there only one academic interested in having – or able to obtain – a mainstream media platform to comment on the state of education in Scotland? Is Professor Paterson the ONLY academic with a view? Are there no others that believe in wider public communication of their research findings and expert views, research/expertise that may well have been supported over time with public funds?
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‘And finally, is there only one academic interested in having – or able to obtain – a mainstream media platform to comment on the state of education in Scotland?’
Good question. I knew many. They’d all insist on a less-simplistic narrative.
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The Lucy Adams piece mentioned https://archive.ph/CIjjf
Google “The attainment gap between Scotland’s richest and poorest school pupils increased last year, according to new figures” to see the intended multiplier effect of the propaganda – It may be overhyped nonsense, but with Westminster politics in the gutter to most in England, there’s ever a demand for a “Look over there..” story, with Paterson ever ready to facilitate.
The Telegraph’s Daniel Sanderson is one of the few headlining the intended implication with ” Sturgeon’s legacy ‘in tatters’ as gap between rich and poor pupils widens ” with the subtext ” Background still playing large role in whether students find employment or enter higher education despite SNP promise “.
It’s all naked political propaganda, the desperation to up the volume ahead of the Holyrood elections will become increasingly evident.
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25% of mature students are left out of the equation. Included there is no attainment gap. Life long learning. Scotland has the highest proportion of educated people in the world. 30% from school, 25% mature students, EU 7%. 15% before Brexit. Foreign students paying the full cost. Over 56%. Next is Canada 56%.
Lindsey Paterson should resign. Employed by Scottish taxpayers. Not to diss Scottish education. Lindsey Paterson is part of the problem. A unionist Tory. The Tories cut £6Billion from education, a year. For 10 years. £60Billion.
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