After Scotland rid itself of National Testing in 2003 in an attempt to move away from testing and back to teaching Nicola Sturgeon seems to have brought us right back to where we started. Aside from the issues I have with the reintroduction of national testing on the grounds of the stress it causes children and the workload it causes teachers, my main qualm is with Sturgeon’s sweeping statement that “The information will allow us over the next few years to set clear, specific and meaningful milestones on the road to closing the attainment gap.”
It is my view that this gap in attainment cannot be fixed solely on an Educational level. It is time that the government stopped burying their heads in the sand and blaming teachers for these levels of inequality. In 1955 Halsey conducted a study that linked the educational underachievement of ‘working class’ people to poverty. Goodman and Burton took this further by conducting a study that found the gaps in attainment began to widen from the age of seven. Both of these studies highlight the influence of factors outwith education on the levels of achievement of children.
This shows that by the time children become school age they have already been heavily influenced by factors from home that will have a detrimental effect on their levels of attainment. This is why I feel the government could be spending their money more wisely by continuing to fund the running of Nurseries that specialise in referrals for children under 3 who will benefit from time away from detrimental home environments.
Children need to be given these chances early on in life if we stand any chance of ensuring they lead happy and successful lives within which they achieve their full potential.
