A return to school league tables last seen under Margaret Thatcher is now "inevitable" after Holyrood rejected Lib Dem calls to scrap standardised testing, the party's education spokesman has warned.

Liam McArthur made a list-ditch effort to remove standardised testing from the Education (Scotland) Bill as it entered its final stage in the Scottish Parliament.

Education Secretary Angela Constance said 30 out of 32 councils already use a form of standardised assessment.

She said the national approach will strip out duplication costs, add consistency and provide a bespoke tool for Curriculum for Excellence.

Mr McArthur, however, said standardised testing will inevitably lead to league tables.

He said: "I would urge the government to heed the calls of teaching unions, teachers and parents to drop plans for national standardised testing in primary schools."

He quoted Brian Boyd, Emeritus Professor of Curriculum Studies at Strathclyde University, who told him: "It is notable that the last time such an approach was introduced was by a Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher, borne by a lack of trust in the teaching profession and narrow vision of what constituted progress."

Mr McArthur added: "Denials from the Education Secretary and First Minister that they are not ushering in a return to higher-stakes testing, teaching-to-the-test and league tables is difficult to square with what is proposed.

"Information will be available on a school-by-school basis. Whether league tables are sanctioned by ministers or not, they seem inevitable."

Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said her party is "firmly committed to standardised and consistent testing which allows parents and teachers to have a very meaningful and accurate process of information about their child and how that progress measures against other pupils".

She said: "We cannot agree with Mr McArthur's amendments, given that they subscribe to the Liberals' overall objection to national testing."

Labour opportunity spokesman Iain Gray accused the Cabinet Secretary of "trying to play both sides" on national testing.

"She has tried to convince some commentators that she was supporting a return to high-stakes national testing and comparisons, while reassuring the teaching profession and parents in particular that that was not the intention," he said.

He said the government's proposals "should improve the data which is available to us".

"That has to be a good thing, as long as it is done in a way that avoids high-stakes testing, teaching-to-the-test and crude league tables.

"So, on the basis of the assurances that we have been given, we won't support Mr McArthur's amendments."

Ms Constance said: "Of course, the framework will not, in itself, deliver the improvements that we all want to see but it will, for the first time, mean that we have comprehensive information available to inform our decisions.

"It is how the information is used that will determine our success.

"It has always been the intention that assessment will be used to inform the professional judgements for teachers, without creating the perverse incentives that can often accompany high stakes testing.

"I was therefore disappointed to see amendments from Mr McArthur which seemed to take no account of the progress we have made to secure consensus around our approach."

Mr McArthur's amendments were overwhelmingly rejected by the Scottish Parliament. The debate on the Education (Scotland) Bill continues.