Bòrd na Gàidhlig
Brath Naidheachd
Press Release
*SCROLL DOWN FOR ENGLISH VERSION*
Major step forward for Gaelic Learning
28 March 2007
SQA PRESS RELEASEFriday 9 March 2007
MAJOR STEP FORWARD FOR GAELIC LEARNING
Learning in Gaelic for young people has taken a major step forward with the publication - in
Gaelic - of a range of assessment materials for 5 to 14 year-old learners by the Scottish
Qualifications Authority (SQA).
SQA already manages the general 5-14 National Assessment Bank – an online resource
which provides assessment tools to teachers, allowing them to verify their judgement on
the progress made and levels reached by pupils. Now, this service is being extended to
include materials in Gaelic for Mathematics, Reading and Writing.
As with existing materials, the Gaelic assessments will be available on-line. They have been
written by teachers and have undergone a rigorous process of validation and pre-testing.
In Mathematics, there will be 10 assessments at each level from A to F, covering information
handling; numbers, money and measurement; shape, position and movement; and problem
solving.
There are now 36 different Reading assessments, also covering all six levels, and all
completely new, using Gaelic texts rather than translations of English texts. Work is
underway to increase this Bank from 36 items to 60.
24 Writing assessments have been developed along with a further 9 assessments in Writer’s
Crafts. These assessments are translations from English that have been selected by Gaelic
teachers as being particularly appropriate.
This project has been developed by SQA in partnership with Learning and Teaching Scotland,
the Assessment is for Learning team, and the Scottish Executive’s Smarter Scotland
initiative, and was launched on 8 March at Glasgow’s Gaelic School by popular TV and Gaelic
personality Cathy MacDonald.
Speaking about this development, SQA Chief Executive Dr Janet Brown says, ‘We strive to
make Scotland’s qualifications system as inclusive as possible and I’m delighted that we
have now developed this bank of materials in Gaelic. This is another example of how we at
Bòrd na Gàidhlig
Brath Naidheachd
Press Release
SQA are working hard to support our Gaelic community, and Gaelic learning’.The Minister
for Education and Young People, Hugh Henry said:‘Gaelic education is thriving in Scotland helping to benefit our pupils and the future of the language.‘It's great news that the SQA are
publishing such a wide range of assessment materials. This will help teachers make sure
their pupils are on track and ensure Gaelic pupils get the same standard of education as
others across Scotland.’
Further information from:
Mike Haggerty, SQA Communications, 07900 67 84 26 or mike.haggerty@sqa.org.uk