SNP could take more than a century to close attainment gap

Scottish Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP has said that the SNP’s promise to close the attainment gap is “irrevocably broken” as new figures showed that it could take more than 100 years to close the gap.

In 2016 Nicola Sturgeon promised to close the gap within a decade.

Scottish Liberal Democrats analysed the most recent figures to determine how long it would take to close the various attainment gaps in numeracy and literacy.

This analysis found that at the current rate of progress to date, it would take:

• 133 years to close the attainment gap in numeracy at primary school.
• 57 years to close the attainment gap in literacy in primary school.
• 31 years to close the attainment gap in S3 literacy.
• 28 years to close the attainment gap in S3 numeracy.

Willie Rennie said:

“We’re weeks away from Nicola Sturgeon’s deadline for closing the attainment gap, but the SNP are still a lifetime away from making it happen.

“The SNP’s promise to a whole generation of pupils from deprived backgrounds is irrevocably broken.  

“Thanks to the SNP, Scotland has tumbled down the international rankings and parents are extremely worried about what all this means for their children’s futures.

“Only Scottish Liberal Democrats have a realistic plan to get Scottish education back to its best and give every child the best start in life."