The University of Glasgow Educational Assessment Network (UGEAN) partnered with The Educational Institute of Scotland, the Scottish Qualifications Authority, and Education Scotland to host a significant event that explored Assessment, Quality, and Accountability in Scottish Education. 

This event brought together researchers, educators, key policymakers, and partners from across the Scottish education system to collaboratively discuss assessment, quality, and accountability and how these can shape teaching, learning, and broader system change.

The first half of the day opened with a welcome from Kara Makara, Joint Director of UGEAN, followed by a scene-setting presentation from David Morrison-Love, also Joint Director of UGEAN, who shared key insights from UGEAN-led research, including in Scotland as well as recent developments from the Camau i’r Dyfodol project in Wales.  

Andrea Bradley, General Secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), offered reflections from the perspective of Scotland’s largest teaching union, discussing issues of assessment and teacher professionalism, supporting diverse pathways, and accountability and performativity.  Christopher DeLuca, Professor at Queen’s University, Canada, provided an overview of assessment research, framed through the idea of assessment ecosystems and underscoring the importance of assessment literacy in changing assessment cultures.

The second half of the day explored some of the work already underway in relation to assessment and curriculum.  Donna Stewart, Chief Examiner and Director of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), shared the SQA’s evolving role, ways of working and priorities for qualifications as part the assessment landscape.  Andrew Creamer, Head of Learning, Teaching, and Assessment at Education Scotland, shared the ongoing work on the Curriculum Improvement Cycle and offered some reflections on accountability and the development of the technical framework.  

To close the day, Louise Hayward, Professor of Educational Assessment and Innovation at the University of Glasgow, drew together key themes from the day and invited participants to consider possibilities for change in assessment that genuinely serve children and young people of Scotland.

Breakout discussions formed a key part of the event.  These were facilitated by colleagues from UGEAN and structured around key questions from our partners and brought together perspectives from across practice, policy, and research communities.  These sessions opened up rich dialogue around key considerations for the system related to accountability, performativity, and wider societal issues; ways of thinking through fairness and equity; the balance of internal and external assessment; different approaches to assessment and naturally occurring evidence; curriculum development centred on big ideas, and the disconnect between the BGE and Senior Phase.

Later this year, a joint report inspired by this event will be published and shared nationally to help inform policy, research, and practice going forward. This event was funded by the College of Social Sciences Strategic Impact Development Fund.

First published: 5 June 2025

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