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Updated: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 | Printer Friendly Version | |

EIS WELCOMES ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK BUT WARNS OF RESOURCE NEEDS

Commenting today on the publication of Building the Curriculum 5, the new Assessment Framework and associated papers, EIS Education convener Larry Flanagan said:

"The EIS welcomes today's publication and the Scottish Government's commitment to support teachers as they work on the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. These changes to assessment will place greater emphasis on teachers' own professional judgment of pupils' progress and remove the narrow, target-driven testing agenda of the past. It is extremely important that proper support and moderation facilities are available in all schools, and this will have considerable resource implications at both school and local authority level. The EIS welcomes the recognition of the need for more funding in this area and the Scottish Government’s pledge to make additional funding available to support future development.”

Mr Flanagan continued, “These changes will also require a change in the mind-set at local authority level, and local authorities will have to accept that the narrow testing agenda and use of standardised tests will play no part in the new assessment arrangements.”

He added, “While today's publication marks an important step on the journey to CfE, much more still needs to be done in terms of funding and resources to allow schools to deliver the promise of CfE. In these times of reduced budgets, falling teacher numbers and rising class sizes, the Scottish Government and local authorities must deliver significant additional funding if schools are to make a success of such an ambitious programme of curricular improvement."