Standards of attainment among pupils in East Dunbartonshire are rising year on year and a new report shows that the attainment gap is also continuing to narrow.
A new report by the Council uses the Scottish Government’s National Improvement Framework to look at average scores across the different ‘deprivation deciles’. These deciles range from 1 to 10 with the 10% most deprived areas known as decile 1 and the 10% least deprived areas referred to as decile 10.
It shows that over recent years the difference in average scores for pupils across the board is reducing and the difference in scores between deciles 1- 10 is narrowing.
In 2011/12 the difference between deciles 1 and 10 was 442 points and last year (2015/16) the difference had reduced by 42% to 258 points.
Councillor Maureen Henry, Convener of the Education Committee, welcomed the report and the emerging trends. She said, “These figures show that in East Dunbartonshire we are tackling inequality by working to improve the results of lower attainers as well as those of our higher achievers.”
In secondary schools across the area the average score for deciles 1 and 2 has improved by 20% over the last four years. Over the same period the average score for deciles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 increased by 10% and in deciles 9 and 10, there has been a 3% improvement. In all areas, performance is higher than the virtual comparator schools**
Councillor Henry added, “In all our secondary schools not only are we seeing pupils perform better than their peers in comparator schools but we are seeing the attainment gap closing. This trend is such a positive incentive for all of our young people, reinforcing to them that they can reach their potential.”
Underpinning all of these positive statistics is a focus on literacy and numeracy in East Dunbartonshire’s classroom which is paying dividends:
- The percentage of pupils achieving SCQF* Level 4 Literacy in East Dunbartonshire has improved from 98.29% in 2012 to 99.36% this year. The 2016 figure is more than 2% higher than the Council’s comparator level.
- The percentage of pupils achieving SCQF level 5 Literacy has improved from 86.49% in 2012 to 95.86% this year, almost 8% better than the comparator level.
- The percentage of pupils achieving SCQF* Level 4 Numeracy in East Dunbartonshire has improved from 91.77% in 2012 to 97.61% this year. The 2016 figure is almost 6% higher than the Council’s comparator level.
- The percentage of pupils achieving SCQF level 5 Numeracy has improved from 74.38% in 2012 to 80.38% this year, 3.5% better than the comparator level.
Councillor Henry added, “What all of these trends show is that our focus is firmly on bringing the best out of all our young people, regardless of their personal circumstances.
“It is vital that we keep working hard with teachers, school staff and parents to ensure that each and every pupil gets the very most out of their school experience.”
*SCQF – Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework
** virtual comparator schools – Generated by the Scottish Government using a complex statistical process. More information on Education Scotland website.
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