Scottish National Standardised Assessments – Information for Parents /Carers

National standardised assessments are being introduced as part of the National Improvement Framework to help teachers judge how well children and young people are doing and plan next steps in their learning. The Scottish Government has introduced a single, nationally developed set of standardised assessments, designed to reflect the way we deliver education in Scotland, through Curriculum for Excellence. These assessments are expected to replace the variety of existing standardised assessments that local authorities and schools use at the moment

All S3 pupils undertake national standardised assessments covering aspects of reading, writing and numeracy over the course of the school year. Assessments will be completed online and will be automatically marked by the online system, giving teachers immediate feedback to help children progress. The system is designed so that if a child is struggling with the questions they will get easier, and if a child is doing well the questions will become more challenging.

Children do not need to prepare or revise for the assessments. The assessments are used as part of routine teaching and learning to help teachers understand how well your child is progressing and to plan next steps. Scottish National Standardised Assessments data provides additional information to the teacher regarding how your child is progressing in school and will help plan future learning. These are not used to assess pupils. There is no pass or fail. 

The tests will be taken during the school day over the next few weeks and will be co-ordinated with the S3 work experience program to minimise disruption to learning and teaching.  

Further information about the Scottish National Standardised Assessment is available on the SNSA website (https://standardisedassessment.gov.scot/parents-and-carers/ )

The assessments will, as far as possible, accommodate the needs of children who require additional support.

This letter can be downloaded here.