§ Mr. Raymond S. RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to implement national testing in schools in Scotland.
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[pursuant to his reply, 2 November 1992, c. 153–54]: National testing is an essential part of the Government's education strategy. It ensures for parents that the progress of their children in school is checked against national standards.
The new arrangements for national testing announced last November and set out fully in The Scottish Office Education Department's circular 12/92, were widely welcomed in Scotland. National tests will now be given in primary schools in Scotland whenever pupils are considered by their teachers to have largely completed a level of the curriculum in mathematics, reading and writing. From January 1994, these arrangements will apply also to pupils in S1 and S2.
Education authorities were asked to confirm that they would implement these arrangements. They have now done so, in response to which regulations have been laid before Parliament today to revoke the regulations on national testing currently in force.