SATs tests for seven-year-olds to be scrapped

Critics deride move against early exams as surrender to teachers, but minister says voluntary testing is better

COMPULSORY examinations for seven year olds are to be axed, prompting claims that Education Secretary Justine Greening has “hoisted the white flag” and tried “to buy-off ” teachers.

Children will no longer have to face formal tests until they are about to leave primary school at 11, Ms Greening said yesterday, just after she bowed to union pressure to water-down the grading system for the new GCSEs.

Among those critical of the change was a former Tory minister who called the decision “worrying” and “very disappointing” given the work done by Ms Greening’s predecessors on Standard Assessment Tasks (SATs).

“It is generally accepted that we must know how children are at the age of seven,” the former minister said, adding: “At the end of the day a secretary of state is meant to be there for the pupils. You have to listen to teachers but who loses out most by not knowing how they are progressing if there is a problem? It is the kids.”

Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said Ms Greening was “trying to buy off ” teaching unions ahead of their Easter conference. “It is a retrograde step that will mostly harm the children whose problems need to be diagnosed,” he said.

“SATs are the equivalent check for somebody who is ill – they give a diagnosis of problems. They are helpful to the children who fail them most of all.”

The tests in reading, writing, maths and science – which are taken by more than half a million youngsters each year – will now be voluntary for seven year olds after this year.

And even this year’s SATs will have changes to the type and difficulty of early questions to ensure “children are not discouraged by tough questions”.

Announcing the plans during a visit to a primary school with Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, Ms Greening said: “The Government has reformed the primary school system to make sure children can master the basics of literacy and numeracy.

“Now we want to build on that by de- veloping a stable assessment system that helps children learn, while freeing up teachers to do what they do best – supporting children to fulfil their potential.”

A proposed new baseline assessment will take place at some point during a child’s reception year, but pupils should not know they are being tested.

The results will be used as a marker of abilities to measure the progress made by age 11.

The Government is now consulting on the proposals, which also includes improvements to the early years foundation stage – which records young children’s progress up to age five.

Mr Hobby said the decision was “good news” because it “creates the time and space in a pupil’s primary years for teachers to focus on teaching rather than on high-stakes assessment.”

Separately, Ms Greening said new grammar schools will boost results. “Do we want to make sure, though, that new grammars work effectively,” she asked. “Absolutely – and that’s precisely why there’s so much work going on right now to make sure what we bring forward will be a new model for how selection can work ... to generally raise attainment.”