Education, Children and Young People Committee
Gaelic Medium Education National Standardised Assessments
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary regarding Gaelic Medium Education National Standardised Assessments
Dear Stephen
Gaelic Medium Education National Standardised Assessments (Measaidhean Coitcheann Nàiseanta airson Foghlam tron Ghàidhlig – MCNG): update
As you know, the Scottish Government is currently working to develop phase two of the National Standardised Assessments (comprising a combined platform for the SNSA and the Gaelic equivalent, MCNG). In so doing, our commitment to ensuring a high quality assessment tool which delivers positive user experiences and meets user needs remains key.
While phase 2 of the MCNG was originally expected to launch from January 2022, I have now decided to roll out the system later in the year – still ensuring that the GME sector can use online assessments during the current school year.
The provision of national standardised assessments continues to represent a significant development for the GME sector, and one to which the Scottish Government remains fully committed. As a mark of that commitment, in moving towards phase two of the assessments, the Scottish Government has brought the development of MCNG content in-house, and is directly overseeing the recruitment and management of GME practitioners to develop brand new content which reflects lived experience of Curriculum for Excellence within the immersion learning context. The quality assurance panel continues to comprise local authority GME staff, and be led by Education Scotland. We believe the co-production approach to the MCNG which has been such a core feature since its initial development, remains one of its key strengths.
Phase two will see a shared approach to the assessment design, standardisation principles, and reporting functionality for SNSA and MCNG. The move to a shared platform, and a transition between service providers, will inevitably create some differences in the user interface and presentation of assessments to users. We are working closely with AlphaPlus, our phase two providers, to minimise those differences; retain as familiar and user friendly an assessment platform as possible for learners and practitioners; and build enhancements into the assessment services moving forward.
I fully recognise that extending the pause in MCNG delivery beyond January, as originally envisaged, is less than ideal. I believe firmly, however, that taking additional time to optimise the assessments for the MCNG (and SNSAs thereafter) and ensure they meet the needs of education staff, children and young people, is the right thing to do.
The development and enhancement of the assessment platform will continue in the coming months, with a view to conducting user trialling within the sector in March, once the immediate pressures of managing the COVID-19 pandemic through the winter have lessened for schools and authorities.
The MCNG will then be launched under a Public Beta banner during the summer term – essentially providing all GME service users with the opportunity to access and engage with the full assessment services and functionality of the formal MCNG, but facilitating an additional round of user feedback and testing of the system under real life conditions – before launching formally alongside the SNSA in August 2022. The Public Beta system will enable all learners from appropriate stages to be presented for MCNG and will generate diagnostic reports on learner outcomes as practitioners have come to expect.
I hope this update is helpful.
SHIRLEY-ANNE SOMERVILLE