Scotland’s independent think tank
Scotland’s independent think tank

Why Educational Data Matters

SCOTTISH SCHOOLING IS A DATA “BLACK HOLE”

  • Commission on School Reform calls for Office for Scottish Education Data, reporting to Parliament
  • Professor Paterson: “No way to assess whether schooling is working”

The Commission on School Reform, the independent group of education experts set up by the think tank Reform Scotland, today calls for the creation of an Office for Scottish Education Data to address what it calls a “black hole out of which no information escapes”.

The Commission has released a new report – Why Educational Data Matters – in which it says that our school system has “no coherent way of tracking children’s learning, no data to investigate the effectiveness of different teaching strategies, no evidence on the relationship between children’s progress and social circumstances, no information on the curriculum offered in secondary schools and no way of evaluating policy”.

The Commission has proposed:

  • A regular sample survey of pupils in P1, P4, P7, S3 and after leaving school to gather evidence of progress
  • Annual tracking data using the existing Scottish National Standardised Assessments and SQA assessments, which are currently held separately and unaligned
  • An Office for Scottish Education Data to oversee the new structure, accountable to Parliament, not Government

The full paper, with the recommendations, can be read here.

Commenting, Professor Lindsay Paterson of the Commission on School Reform and the University of Edinburgh said:

“Scottish schooling is a black hole out of which no information escapes that might be useful in assessing progress and informing policy.

“This absence of data means that it is effectively impossible to track learning or teaching, to assess the outcome of schooling for leavers, and therefore to evaluate government policies intended to improve schooling.

“The good news is that it would not be particularly challenging to put a credible data structure in place. We already have good-quality evidence from the Scottish National Standardised Assessments and the SQA assessment process, and by bringing these together and adding a regular sample survey at key stages, we can generate critical data.

“We cannot credibly assess and remedy our problems – and realise our potential – if we lack information about what they are, and an Office for Scottish Education Data would bring us in line with other countries who do better.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

  1. The report – Why Educational Data Matters – can be read here.
  2. A blog about the report, written by Lindsay Paterson can be read here.
  3. The Commission on School Reform was set up by Reform Scotland and the Centre of Scottish Public Policy. More information, including its membership, can be seen here.
  4. Reform Scotland, a charity registered in Scotland, is a public policy institute which works to promote increased economic prosperity, opportunity for all, and more effective public services. Reform Scotland is independent of political parties and any other organisations. It is funded by donations from private individuals, charitable trusts and corporate organisations. Its Director is Chris Deerin and Alison Payne is the Research Director. Both work closely with the Trustee Board, chaired by Lord McConnell, which meets regularly to review the research and policy programme.
  5. For media contact Andy Maciver, [email protected], 07855 261 244

Read the Report (PDF)

CSR data paper 2024