Its bigger counterpart, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), withdrew its own plan for industrial action in late September after education minister John Swinney announced the end of unit assessments for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams.
Seamus Searson, general secretary of the SSTA, which has about 9,000 members, said: “Unfortunately, the proposed changes for National 5 do not take place until 2017/18 and, with the lack of progress on National 4, the union had no option but to move to action to protect another cohort of young people and its members from excessive workload.
“The ballot has shown the strength of feeling and determination of secondary school teachers to address the workload demands that distract teachers from focusing on teaching.
“The SSTA wishes to acknowledge and welcome Mr Swinney’s determination to declutter the work of teachers and allow them to focus on teaching, but workload is unlikely to be significantly reduced in the current session.”
Mr Swinney said there was “no justification whatsoever” for industrial action in light of how government had agreed to tackle the issue. He urged the union to reconsider.
He said: “This action would not be in the interests of anyone, least of all young people and parents and I urge SSTA members not to participate.
“Over the past few months I have listened carefully to what teachers, parents, young people and others have had to say on workload and have responded positively with a range of actions.
“As part of this, I have now announced the removal of mandatory unit assessments. This will significantly reduce the workload for teachers, giving them more time to focus on teaching our young people.”
Mr Swinney promised to tackle teacher workload as the government’s priority when he was appointed education secretary in the summer.
Unit assessments were brought in to reduce the importance of external exams, to establish short-term goals for pupils and create a series of benchmarked achievements into qualifications amid concerns some pupils, including those from more deprived backgrounds, were at a disadvantage.
However, teachers say the units are spurious because pupils must still pass the coursework and final exam. They also argue that the associated workload has often overwhelmed staff and undermined morale.