Notes taken by Yvonne McBlain from update presentation on SNSA by David Leng, Scottish Government (Click to view full presentation):

Key messages regarding SNSA which are not being positively reported by the media:

• Is a diagnostic assessment – not high stakes test
• Designed to help teachers identify and enable appropriate progression, pace, challenge, etc.
• Is only 1 assessment among others which contribute to teacher judgement
• Is aligned to Curriculum for Excellence
• Represents a moment in time regarding a child’s understanding
• But, website can now offer national comparison data where this may be useful

Updates on SNSA developments:

• 570000 assessments completed last session
• 3 point scale has been replaced by a 12 point scale which provides more detail about the child’s performance – new training is available to support effective use of this scale
• National norms are now available for comparison – these are/will be gathered from data at 2 points in the year – pre-Christmas then March
• Data and feedback about the assessment process is being gathered from a sample group of practitioners/users.
• The training menu for SNSA has been expanded by 3 more courses which focus on analysing data to inform improvement, including in  ASN and EAL contexts.
• The Primary 1 User Review resulted in 30% of the questions being replaced, the provision of advice on classroom management for practitioners, gathering of case studies and set up of a practitioner forum which will be chaired by Sue Ellis and will advise the SNSA production team.
• The Parliamentary Review is on going with a report due by May 2019.
• Schools should continue to use SNSA as advised in the meantime.