PARENTS and headteachers have raised serious concerns over moves by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to introduce compulsory tests for primary school pupils.

A leading parent body said any move to introduce standardised classroom assessments would be unpopular, particularly if they led to more school league tables.

And the union that represents primary headteachers warned there would be a backlash against any system that created more bureaucracy.

Earlier this month Ms Sturgeon paved the way for primary tests during a major speech in Edinburgh, saying better and more reliable data was needed to assess performance in classrooms.

She said the creation of league tables - a prominent part of the education system south of the border - was not the aim of the reforms, but accepted the creation of unofficial rankings would be a consequence of releasing information into the public domain.

Eileen Prior, executive director of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said: "The last time national testing was on the agenda was back in the 1990s when parents chose to opt out of the regime forcing a climb down on compulsory testing.

"My sense is that national testing is likely to be as unpopular among parents now as it was then and certainly if it creates a space for competition between pupils, schools or local authorities. There are likely to be very few parents who want league tables of primary schools.

"That said, parents do want to know how their child is doing and many find the assessment information they are given at school to be both confusing and not relevant to them as parents."

Ms Prior said most councils were already using classroom assessments and suggested the focus should be more on how teachers were interpreting the information and sharing it with parents.

She added: "There certainly seems to be a need for robust assessment which means there is clarity long before a youngster reaches the transition between primary and secondary and that also means there must be a common language between primary and secondary schools.

"But the key issue around any new testing regime will be around how the information is gathered, how it is used and who has access to it."

Greg Dempster, general secretary of the Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland, said the purpose of any test must be to improve attainment rather than comparing schools.

He said: "We are opposed to any testing structure that creates bureaucracy for schools and learners with the sole aim of producing comparative statistics rather than assisting teachers and pupils with the practical task of designing next steps in learning.

"Testing regimes which give rise to school rankings often measure against a set standard rather than assessing value added and this can have a corrosive effect on schools with pressure to improve in the rankings leading to behaviours driven by the league tables rather than pupil needs.

"These might include a narrowing of the curriculum, teaching to the test or focussing on those learners on the cusp of passing a test at the expense of other pupils."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said an announcement on the National Improvement Framework would be made in the Programme for Government this week.

She added: "The framework will provide clarity on what we are seeking to achieve and allow us to measure clearly where we’re succeeding and where we still need to do more.

"In developing the framework we will consult with teachers, parents and their children, as well as all relevant partners in education and their input will be welcomed."

The current debate around the reintroduction of national testing for primary pupils in Scotland dates back to the publication of a survey of literacy in April this year.

The biennial Scottish Survey of Literacy - ironically introduced after the scrapping of national tests - found standards of reading and writing were falling despite the introduction of the Curriculum for Excellence, which was expected to raise basic standards.