When it comes to education, Scotland is an example of what not to do

00:00 05:43

Michael Simmons has narrated this article for you to listen to.

Scots have, in the past, bragged about having the best education system in the world. Scottish sixth-formers study a broader range of subjects and aren’t forced to specialise too early. And look at our history: the literature, the Enlightenment, our universities, all due to world-class schools. But however true this may once have been, it’s hard to make the same claim now.

Scottish education is in crisis. Confirmation came this week with the PISA international league tables for school pupils in 81 different countries. Up to 10,000 pupils in each system sit tests in maths, reading and science, and the results are a gold standard in comparing schools. Scotland has traditionally come close to England and once led the UK in scores for maths. But now Scots have fallen the equivalent of almost one year of learning behind England. Quite an attainment gap for such similar countries. These results were generous to Scotland, too. The report cites ‘an upward bias of approximately nine or ten points’. So the true picture may be even worse.

The outcome was described as ‘catastrophic’ by Lindsay Paterson, professor emeritus of education policy at Edinburgh University. The 2010 introduction of the ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ – an overhaul hailed by Nicola Sturgeon as the very latest in teaching methods – seems to have accelerated the decline. The only consolation for Scotland is that the results are not quite as bad as in Wales.

This is not how devolution was supposed to work. Since 1999 the education policies of Scotland and Wales have been decided in Holyrood and Cardiff Bay respectively. The early advocates of devolution thought that, within 25 years, local pupils would be leaving their English counterparts behind.