Online tests for school pupils: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
FOI reference: FOI/18/00343
Date received: 6 February 2018
Date responded: 5 March 2018
Information requested
How many schools have applied for an alternative to the online tests? Please make it clear how many of the schools are primary and how many are secondary.
Please name each school and make it clear why each school requested an alternative to the online test. For instance did they lack the technology to deliver the tests; does the school suffer from poor connectivity etc?
Which local authorities are the schools located in that need an alternative to the online test?
For each school please make it clear the type of alternative test that is being provided – do candidates simply answer questions using pencil and paper?
At P1 will the alternative test be a written test? How will P1 pupils be supported?
How will the alternative tests be marked – does the class teacher mark them or do they have to be sent away? If they have to be sent away how long does the government anticipate it will be before the class teacher has the results?
How long does the government expect the alternative numeracy test to take to sit at P1, P4, P7 and S3?
How long does the government expect the alternative literacy test to take to sit at P1, P4, P7 and S3?
Finally, by the end of the current school year in June 2018 how much does the Scottish government anticipate it will have spent on developing and delivering the new national assessments in literacy and numeracy at P1, P4, P7 and S3? Could you please provide a breakdown of the main costs?
Response
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, an exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested because it is personal data of a third party, i.e. name, address, date of birth, qualifications, CV, etc. and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 1998. This exemption is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.
An exemption under section 33(1)(b) of FOISA (commercial interests) also applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the commercial interests of ACER UK.
In answer to your further questions regarding the use of the offline solution, no school or local authority has applied for an alternative to the online assessments. Therefore we have no information to provide.
In response to your questions on estimated timescales to complete the offline assessments, it is anticipated that there will be no difference in the time taken for children and young people to complete either online or offline assessments. While the actual time will vary between individuals and their capabilities, the general expectation is that each assessment should take no more than 45 minutes. You can find information on this within the SNSA public website at
https://standardisedassessment.gov.scot/questions-and-answers/
Finally, a breakdown of the main costs that the Scottish government anticipates will be spent developing and delivering the new national assessments in literacy and numeracy at P1, P4, P7 and S3 by the end of the current school year in June 2018 is displayed as document 10 in the response information attachment.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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