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Scotland’s schools narrow attainment gaps across the board and ‘most deprived’ 14/15 year-olds make major strides in literacy

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From Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Levels, 2024-25 published on 9 December 2025: The statistics also provide information on the gap in attainment between pupils from the most and least deprived areas of Scotland: For literacy, there was an increase in the proportions of primary pupils (P1, P4, P7 combined) that achieved the expected level, from both the least deprived and most deprived areas with a larger increase in the most deprived areas. As a result, the gap reached its narrowest ever level of 19.4 percentage points. For primary numeracy, the gap narrowed to 16.6 percentage points, which was … Continue reading Scotland’s schools narrow attainment gaps across the board and ‘most deprived’ 14/15 year-olds make major strides in literacy

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Literacy and Numeracy at record highs in Scotland’s schools

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From National Standardised Assessments for Scotland National Report for Academic Year 2024-2025 published today, we can see the one year results but no trends. This is a classic example of a task where you can trust AI so I asked it for the trend and the sources upon which it based that. After 40 years in HE, I think I would spot errors. Trends in Literacy and Numeracy Achievement in Scotland The Scottish Government’s National Standardised Assessments (SNSA) reports provide annual snapshots of assessment outcomes in bands for literacy (reading and writing) and numeracy, but they do not include year-over-year … Continue reading Literacy and Numeracy at record highs in Scotland’s schools

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BBC Scotland desperately keen to headline their hoped for ‘closure of almost every school in Scotland’ and confront the minister but then keep quiet when the teachers clearly can’t be bothered to strike

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BBC Scotland, 15 January 2025 from first thing. This captured at 10am. The following day it remained the headline story in the BBC Scotland inserts in BBC Breakfast. One of the teaching unions, the NAS UWT, had already given up because not enough members had voted but the BBC team still seem hopeful today that they might get some bad news they can connect to the Scottish Government. It’s now an hour or so since the comedic EIS announcement: The EIS announced that its recent statutory industrial action ballot on teacher workload has become a victim of soon-to-be repealed elements of UK … Continue reading BBC Scotland desperately keen to headline their hoped for ‘closure of almost every school in Scotland’ and confront the minister but then keep quiet when the teachers clearly can’t be bothered to strike

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95% of Scotland’s schools in good condition up from only 62% under Labour yet Herald platform Anas Sarwar to accuse SNP

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The Herald today, above, joining the daily anti-SNP drip from the 95% Unionist media in Scotland, with the above evidence-free reporting and, of course, ignoring the key role of local councils in maintaining school buildings. Here’s the evidence on school buildings: By stewartb This provides statistics for context and perspective. It follows a BBC Scotland article on the corporation’s News website on 12 October headlined: ‘Child safety fears as ‘repaired’ ceiling falls at neglected school’. Now don’t get me wrong, no one should have a piece of wood or plasterboard fall on or near their head, anywhere. And especially no … Continue reading 95% of Scotland’s schools in good condition up from only 62% under Labour yet Herald platform Anas Sarwar to accuse SNP

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London-born, entirely England-educated, nephrologist with no understanding of Scotland’s 500 years plus history of universal free-education thinks he can tell us what to do

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Sir Peter William Mathieson, above, born in Colchester, educated entirely in England with only a medical science degree, and principal of the university where anti-working class Scots bias is the norm1, is on BBC Scotland today to tell us: Edinburgh University’s principal says Scottish students should be asked to pay towards their tuition, as the sector is in “danger” under the current system. Prof Sir Peter Mathieson said that Scotland – where undergraduate tuition is free for most students – could adopt a “graduate repayment scheme” based upon salary. Mathieson insisted Scotland’s funding model was “not sustainable”, but said he … Continue reading London-born, entirely England-educated, nephrologist with no understanding of Scotland’s 500 years plus history of universal free-education thinks he can tell us what to do

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As unfairly subsidised Polish yard reaches milestone on 7 ferries GMB should be reminded to stop supporting Labour if they want to keep jobs in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA Today we read: THE project to build seven new loch class ferries for the west of Scotland has reached another construction milestone. The first vessel has had its keel laid, the base upon which all units are assembled, while the steel has been cut for the second vessel. A ceremony to mark both events recently took place at Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. shipyard in Gdansk, Poland, where the boats are being built for Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL). The small vessel replacement programme will deliver seven fully electric ferries in the first phase, providing improved reliability and … Continue reading As unfairly subsidised Polish yard reaches milestone on 7 ferries GMB should be reminded to stop supporting Labour if they want to keep jobs in Scotland

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Factcheck – 70% pass rate in S4 mathematics – Someone who actually knows something about educational research scoffs at fake ‘commission’s education arm’

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Professor John Robertson OBA, , former schoolteacher, education lecturer, head of department, Associate Dean (Quality Assurance), Research Professor, research methods tutor, Masters and PhD supervisor, multiple peer-reviewed international research author, Faculty Research Ethics Chair I have more detail on the above ‘research’, front page this morning and 35th by this afternoon. The only story that has sunk faster is that on the Labour MSP and the paedophile. I’ve already clarified in my previous post why you should be wary of ‘The Commission on School Reform, the education arm of the independent think tank Enlighten.’ Who on earth do they think they are? … Continue reading Factcheck – 70% pass rate in S4 mathematics – Someone who actually knows something about educational research scoffs at fake ‘commission’s education arm’

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Scotsman ‘newspaper’ front pages incompetent, mendacious, self-important, sub-standard researchers to undermine Scottish schools

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Professor John Robertson OBA, , former schoolteacher, education lecturer, head of department, Associate Dean (Quality Assurance), Research Professor, research methods tutor, Masters and PhD supervisor, multiple peer-reviewed international research author, Faculty Research Ethics Chair The above is on the front page of the Scotsman, based on a report by the far from ‘independent‘, pompously self-styled Commission on School Reform (neither royal nor government just invented) and fronted by the notorious Carole Ford with, as always, party-affiliation hidden, and at the end evidence of Pisa-data which no respectable published educationist will ever use. Note – I’ve put all my ‘stuff’ there … Continue reading Scotsman ‘newspaper’ front pages incompetent, mendacious, self-important, sub-standard researchers to undermine Scottish schools

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The Scotsman’s ‘top academic’ wheeled in to savage Scottish schools again is mere ‘bean counter’ with no experience of teaching in schools, teacher ‘training’, leadership or research into anything other than assessment data

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Professor John Robertson OBA, retired Research Professor, Faculty Research Ethics Chair, Associate Dean for Quality Assurance in Education, Head of Department of Curriculum Studies (30 staff), Senior Lecturer in Educational Technology, Lecturer in Education, School Teacher (Primary), PhD, Master of Education Professor Lindsay Paterson is in the Scotsman again, as he often is, to cast doubt on the competence of Scottish teachers to assess their own pupils continuously as opposed to his preferred snapshot exam method. Once more he returns to the Pisa scores he loves to use to mark us down. He is, to my knowledge, the only serious … Continue reading The Scotsman’s ‘top academic’ wheeled in to savage Scottish schools again is mere ‘bean counter’ with no experience of teaching in schools, teacher ‘training’, leadership or research into anything other than assessment data

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Daily Record manages to miss easily accessed figures proving that the SNP has closed the attainment gap in Scottish schools and widened it with England

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Somebody post this here – https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotland/ – I’m banned Professor John Robertson OBA In the Record today, the above and: Even with Covid in mind, Record View says closing the poverty-related attainment gap in schools is yet another key SNP promise the party has failed to deliver. They have just not bothered or deliberately avoided the evidence easily accessed in the public domain From the Scottish Government’s Literacy and numeracy standards reach record high report in December 2024: The proportion of pupils achieving the expected level in literacy and numeracy across primary and secondary schools has reached a new high, officials figures … Continue reading Daily Record manages to miss easily accessed figures proving that the SNP has closed the attainment gap in Scottish schools and widened it with England