Value-added measures will also include the first use of baseline assessment for primary 1 pupils, something that was discarded under the previous government which anticipated the move would be open to the accusation that it was a device to create primary school league tables.
The intention to move towards baseline testing was flagged up last June by Labour when ministers announced a Pounds 24 million programme on early intervention. It is now seen as an essential tool to keep track of progress on literacy and numeracy but also serves the wider agenda of providing evidence for the value-added performance of primary schools.
