A FLAGSHIP SNP Government education policy is facing fresh scrutiny after ministers were accused of not knowing which attainment gap they want to close in schools.

The SNP administration has been unable to give a “specific definition” of the “gap” and is still deciding on how progress can be measured in reducing the divide.

Lucy Hunter Blackburn, a former civil servant and education policy expert, said: "All measurements have their limits. But for government to be so far into the process without being clear exactly what it wants to change is surprising, and also leaves unwelcome room to move the goalposts as new figures emerge."

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that education is the “defining mission” of her Government and closing the poverty-related attainment gap has been cited as the top priority.

She put one of her most trusted ministers, John Swinney, in charge of the portfolio, and pushed ahead with plans for national standardised assessments in primaries and secondaries, as well giving more money to headteachers to spend.

However, although Sturgeon wants to be judged on raising the educational opportunities of disadvantaged pupils, it is unclear exactly how success or failure will be measured.

According to official Government publications, a range of attainment gaps exist which show unequal outcomes for pupils at different ends of the poverty scale.

In the 2014 and 2015 Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy, primary school pupils from the least deprived areas showed a “statistically significant higher performance” than their peers from the most deprived areas.

In Curriculum for Excellence data from 2015-16, 77 per cent of S3 pupils in deprived areas got “CFE 3rd level or better” in numeracy, while the figure in the least deprived areas was 94 per cent.

On grades, 94.9 per cent of school leavers from the 20 per cent least deprived areas gained one or more qualifications at SCQF Level 5 or better in 2014-15, compared to 74 per cent of those from the 20 per cent most deprived areas.

In May, the Scottish Government was asked for its “specific definition” of the attainment gap and an explanation of the measures by which ministers will judge the success of plans to reduce it.

In response, the Government stated it would not focus on a “single measure”, but would use data from an existing evidence report to “measure the attainment gap at different stages of school, and across literacy and numeracy”.

However, the Government continued: “This data provides a range of possible ways of measuring the attainment gap, and the Scottish Government has committed to working with stakeholders later this year to agree which specific measures are most useful to drive improvement and measure progress towards closing the gap.”

National standardised assessments are due to be introduced in the autumn and the results are expected to inform Government policy.

James McEnaney, a lecturer and journalist who tabled the questions to the Government, said:

“Nearly two years ago Nicola Sturgeon insisted that she be judged on her record in education. Her government is now imposing national standardised testing and insisting upon changes to school governance that were rejected in their own consultation, all with the apparent goal of reducing the attainment gap, yet cannot answer simple questions about how they define the problem or, crucially, how they will measure their own success. It is a quite incredible, and farcical, state of affairs.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “As we have made clear, the gap the Scottish Government is committed to closing is the difference in attainment between children living in the most and least deprived areas in Scotland identified using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

“There are a number of different ways to gauge the attainment gap, and whether progress is being made towards achieving this, and we will consult with stakeholders on the best measures of progress.”