The Scottish Government

« Previous | Contents | Next »

Listen

E: Writing attainment estimates

E.1 Assessing and reporting writing attainment

Pupils' writing skills were not actively assessed during the survey itself for reasons of authenticity (timed, unsupported writing being considered less valid than in-class supported writing) and survey pressure (reading, numeracy and Social Subjects given priority within a large but stretched survey sample). Instead, teachers were asked to submit judgements about writing attainment for all sampled pupils (as they were for reading, numeracy and Social Subjects); judgements for writing were submitted for around 80% of all pupils sampled.

In addition, schools were invited to forward a piece of extended writing of a specified genre ('personal', 'imaginative' or 'functional') for a random third of pupils sampled at each stage which would illustrate the level that each pupil was working at currently. Teachers were asked wherever possible to submit writing in a Social Subjects context. The pieces of writing submitted were subsequently moderated. Teachers were asked where possible to submit writing in a Social Subject context. More information about the writing assessments is available in Annex II.5.

All national estimates of writing attainment presented in the following section are adjusted for the over-representation of reporting authorities in the national sample, and also for any sample imbalance in terms of gender and deprivation. As with all sample surveys there is a level of uncertainty inherent in the results. Where appropriate, standard errors are quoted alongside the attainment estimates, and the size of the standard errors should be taken into account when interpreting the data. Further details of the general survey design are available in Annex I.

E.2 National estimates of writing attainment, based on teachers' judgements

Chart E1 shows the percentage of pupils in each of P3, P5, P7 and S2 categorised into attainment bands levels A-F for writing, based on the teachers' judgements. Detailed results are available in Table E1. At P3, 89% of pupils were judged by their teachers to be at or above the expected level (level A) and 46% of P5 pupils were judged to be already at level C (the expected level for P6). However, attainment levels are somewhat lower in later stages. Considering the expected levels for the respective stages shows that in P7 65% of pupils were judged to be at level D or above, and in S2 53% were judged to be writing at level E or above.

Chart E1
Teachers' judgements of writing attainment
(% pupils judged to be at indicated levels by their teachers* )

* Standard errors are typically between ½ and 1 percentage point.

E.3 Gender differences in writing attainment, based on teachers' judgements

Chart E2 compares the writing attainment levels of boys and girls in each of P3, P5, P7 and S2, based on teachers' judgements. Detailed results are available in Table E1. In line with the findings of the 2005 survey, we again for 2006 see consistently higher attainment in writing amongst girls compared to boys at all stages and levels.

Chart E2
Writing attainment estimates, by gender
(% pupils judged to be at indicated levels by their teachers*)

* Standard errors are typically between 0.1 and 1.6 percentage points.

E.4 Deprivation differences in writing attainment, based on teacher judgements

Chart E3 compares the attainment of pupils from the 20% most deprived areas of Scotland against those from less deprived areas. Detailed results are available in Table E1.

Chart E3
Writing attainment estimates, by deprivation
(% pupils judged to be at indicated levels by their teachers*)

* Standard errors are typically between 0.1 and 2.5 percentage points.

There are consistently higher attainment levels in writing amongst pupils form less deprived areas than for pupils from the most deprived areas at all stages and levels.

E.5 Changes in writing attainment over time

It is possible to look at trends in writing attainment over time, based on teachers' level judgements. These are shown in Chart E5 with more detailed results available in Table E4. It should be noted that the 2005 and 2006 data derive from the sample based information collected as part of the SSA, whereas those relating to earlier years are based on the results collected on all pupils in Scotland (via the 5-14 National Survey of Attainment). These differences in collection method need to be borne in mind when looking at longer term trends.

In general, the results show that, on the basis of their teachers' judgements, the attainment levels of pupils in writing appear to have been maintained over time, with small increases in the percentage of pupils judged to be at indicated levels by their teachers. The estimated percentage of P3 pupils judged to be at level A or better is slightly lower in 2006, but is still in line with the figures seen in earlier years.

Chart E5
Trends in writing attainment - teacher judgements
(% pupils judged to be at indicated levels by their teachers)

E.6 Detailed writing results

Tables E1 to E4 provide detailed results to support the information provided in this section.

Table E1
2006 SSA - National writing attainment estimates: teachers' judgements
(% pupils judged to be at indicated levels by their teachers ^*)

* For 'all pupils' the standard error is between 0.1 and 1.1 for non-zero estimates, and between 0.1 and 1.6 for each non-zero gender estimate.

Table E2
2006 SSA - Writing attainment based on submitted pieces of extended writing compared with teacher judgements
(% pupils at level)

Table E3
2006 SSA - Proportions of scripts for which the level assigned is lower, higher or the same as the level for writing based on teachers' judgements

Table E4
Trends in writing attainment: teacher judgements
SSA results compared with the 5-14 National Survey
(% pupils judged to be at indicated levels by their teachers)

*Pre-2005 data is based on the National Survey of 5-14 Attainment. This census survey was replaced by the sample-based SSA in 2005.

« Previous | Contents | Next »