Scotland’s education system is under fire again after the latest PISA results painted a grim picture of where the country sits internationally, with opposition parties rounding on the SNP government and accusing them of being completely out of touch with reality.
The Programme for International Student Assessment, better known as PISA, tests 15-year-olds across dozens of countries in reading, maths and science. For Scotland, the results have become something of a recurring embarrassment, with performance continuing to slide from the heights the country once enjoyed.
Mairi McAllan stepped up to defend the government’s record, offering what she framed as a robust response to the figures. But opposition politicians were having none of it, with critics from across the political divide accusing the SNP of living in denial about just how badly Scottish education has deteriorated on their watch.
Scotland was once genuinely proud of its education system. It was seen as one of the country’s great strengths, a cornerstone of national identity even. But successive PISA cycles have told a story of decline that is becoming increasingly hard to spin away. Scores in maths, reading and science have all dropped compared to where Scotland stood two decades ago, and the gap between Scotland and the top-performing nations has widened.
Opposition parties have been pointing at these numbers for years, arguing that the SNP’s flagship Curriculum for Excellence has failed to deliver and that teachers have been left without proper support or direction. Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats all lined up to repeat those criticisms following the latest release, demanding the government stop making excuses and start taking responsibility.
The Scottish Conservatives argued that the results were a direct consequence of years of mismanagement and that the government’s response amounted to little more than damage control. Scottish Labour echoed that sentiment, calling on ministers to be honest with parents and pupils about the scale of the problem rather than reaching for positive spin.
What makes the criticism sting more is that Scotland spends a significant amount per pupil compared to other parts of the UK, yet the outcomes do not reflect that investment. That disconnect has become a central part of the opposition attack, with politicians questioning where the money is actually going and whether the current approach to curriculum and assessment is fit for purpose.
Teachers and education professionals have also raised concerns over recent years about workload, the lack of clarity in the curriculum and the pressure on schools to manage increasingly complex pupil needs without adequate resources. Some headteachers have spoken publicly about the difficulties of maintaining standards when support staff numbers have been cut and class sizes have crept up in certain areas.
The attainment gap, the persistent difference in outcomes between pupils from wealthier backgrounds and those from more deprived areas, also remains a stubborn problem. Closing that gap was one of the SNP’s headline pledges when they came to power, and while there has been some targeted investment through schemes like the Pupil Equity Fund, the PISA data suggests progress has been painfully slow.
McAllan pointed to ongoing work to reform and strengthen the curriculum, and insisted the government remains committed to improving outcomes for every young person in Scotland. But given that similar assurances have been offered after previous disappointing PISA cycles, opposition parties argued that warm words are no longer enough.
For parents and pupils, the results raise real questions about whether Scotland’s schools are equipping young people with the skills they need to compete in a modern economy. Maths in particular has been flagged as a serious concern, with scores dropping to levels that alarm educators and employers alike.
The debate around PISA results is never straightforward. Some educationalists caution against placing too much weight on a single international test, arguing that it captures only a narrow slice of what education should be about. But when the trend is consistently downward over multiple cycles, that argument becomes harder to sustain as a defence of the status quo.
Scotland’s education system needs more than defensive press conferences. It needs a genuine reckoning with what has gone wrong and a credible plan to fix it. Whether the SNP government is willing to have that honest conversation remains, for now, an open question.