This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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High marks for pupils in international study
30/01/2002
A major international study has found that Scottish
pupils perform well in comparison with pupils in other
countries regarded as economic competitors.
Scotland's performance overall was in the top ten for
all the subjects assessed as part of the Programme for
International Student Assessment (PISA) study, one of the
main international comparative educational studies. The
study assessed the reading, mathematical and scientific
literacy of 15 year old students in over 30 countries in
2000.
A report - published today by the Executive - shows that
Scotland scored particularly well in mathematics and
reading, being ranked fifth and sixth respectively and in
science was ranked ninth. In the PISA study, the UK as a
whole was seventh for mathematics, seventh for reading and
fourth for science.
Minister for Education and Young People, Cathy Jamieson
said:
"These very encouraging results are consistent with the
HM Inspectorate of Education finding that attainment in S3
and S4 is good or very good in 70% of schools, and with the
continuing upward trend in examination performance and
improved attainment of target levels.
"This report show there is much to be proud of in
Scottish education. Our National Priorities for education
will help all schools develop programmes for further, year
on year improvement.
"But while we are doing well we can always do better.
For example the results of the PISA study suggest that our
commitment to improving the quality of science education in
Scottish schools is particularly important. As part of the
Science Strategy for Scotland we are taking a
range of action to improve school science education,
including more support to science teachers - £5m is being
distributed to education authorities to meet the aims of
the Strategy.
"And while it is encouraging to see improvements in
attainment in S1 and S2, there is still clearly much to be
done at these stages to match improvements at other stages.
Through the Assessment of Development Programme, the
Scottish Executive is taking action to ensure better
communication amongst teachers about pupils' progress,
attainment and learning needs throughout primary and
secondary schooling but especially at the transition from
primary to secondary school."
The PISA study was carried out as part of the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) educational indicators programme. The OECD set up
PISA to provide measures of the attainment of 15 year old
students nearing the end of compulsory education. PISA
assessed the reading, mathematical and scientific literacy
of 15 year olds in over 30 countries in 2000. The major
area assessed was reading literacy and in the 2003 study
the major area will be mathematical literacy with
scientific literacy following in 2006. In 2000 over 250,000
students participated in PISA.
The OECD published the international report on PISA on 4
December 2001 with press conferences in a number of cities
including London. Their report only provided UK results and
the Scottish report, prepared by the Education and Young
Persons Research Unit in the Scottish Executive Education
Department, presents findings from a Scottish perspective.
The Scottish report is based on tests and questionnaires
from 2,500 students in 99 schools.
Copies of the Scottish report can be obtained from the
Scottish Executive Education Department, Education and
Young People Research Unit, Dissemination Officer, Mr C
Affleck, 1B, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ or on
www.scotland.gov.uk/edru. Media copies are available by
e-mail from David Hood on 0131-244-5033.
The latest published figures on examination results
relate to pre-appeal results and were published on 30
November 2001 in 'Examination Results in Scottish Schools,
1999-2001'. The latest published figures on the 2001 SQA
exam results for publicly funded schools show that 33% of
S4 pupils gained 5 or more Standard Grades at grades 1 to 2
or Intermediate 2 at grades A to C and 77% gained 5 or more
Standard Grades at grades 3 to 4 or Intermediate 1 at
grades A to C or better.
The Scottish Executive's Assessment of Achievement
Programme (AAP) monitors the achievement of a 5% sample of
pupils in P4, P7 and S2 each year in English, mathematics
and science in a rolling programme. The 2000 mathematics
survey results were published in the summer of 2000 and
showed improvements at P4, P7 and S2 since the previous
1997 survey and improvements overall since 1991. The
results of the survey of English are expected later this
year.
The latest 5-14 attainment trends were published in a
Statistical News Release on 13 December 2001, with further
detail given in another Statistical News Release on 24
January 2002. The percentage of 5 to 14 year old pupils
attaining or exceeding target levels in reading, writing
and mathematics in publicly funded schools, continued to
increase between 1999/00 and 2000/01. As in previous years,
the percentages of pupils attaining target levels was
generally higher in the early primary stages than in the
later primary and early secondary stages.
A Science Strategy for Scotland sets the framework
which will set the detailed development of policy for the
support and use of science to achieve the Scottish
Executive's objectives set out in
Working together for Scotland - A Programme of
Government.