30th November 2011 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) have recently raised concerns regarding basic skills in English and Maths. Reported on the BBC, the SQA’s findings come from reviewing exams taken by students at Standard Grade, Intermediates 1 and 2, Higher and Advanced Higher level. The results show that in the Sciences students are performing well, but not so in English and Maths.
The SQA say that many students have difficulty using a calculator or multiplying by 100, and that in English, students don’t always know when to start a new paragraph, or how to use a comma properly. The Scottish government wished to emphasise that results are improving despite the SQA’s findings.
A deputy head from a high school in Edinburgh said that the problems arise due to poor teaching in early years. She said that she would like to see more work done with students in nurseries and in the early years of primary school, because, by the time students arrive at secondary school, if the foundations are not there then it becomes very difficult for a student to succeed.
The Schools Minister, Alasdair Allan, said that they recognise that more needs to be done with students in primary school, and secondary school, but that recent results show improvements in literacy at these levels. He continued to say that, as a government, they recognise that there is a hug human cost when students leave school without adequate levels of literacy.