Result! Pupils improve in 3Rs after tests get tougher

PRIMARY pupils are getting better at reading, writing and maths after their exams were made more rigorous, figures showed yesterday.

Across England, 61 per cent of 11- year- olds who took national curriculum tests achieved the expected official standard.

This compares to 53 per cent in 2016, meaning a year-on-year rise of eight percentage points.

The toughened up curriculum and tests were pioneered from 2010 by Michael Gove as Education Secretary after studies showed pupils in England had fallen behind those in countries such as Singapore and China.

As part of the shake-up, children have been taught reading using phonics and been learning times tables by heart. The new Sats exams tested pupils for multiplication, decimals and fractions in maths.

In spelling and grammar, they were asked to show they knew the meaning of key phrases such as ‘subordinate clause’.

They were first taken last year but led teachers and parents to complain the exams were too hard and ‘set children up to fail’.

However, the improved results this year suggest teachers and the 600,000-plus pupils who took the tests in the spring may be taking them more in their stride.

Yesterday school standards minister Nick Gibb said: ‘Today’s results show standards are continuing to rise in primary schools.

‘ Teachers and pupils have responded well to the more rigorous curriculum introduced by this government and these pupils were the first to benefit from the new approach to phonics.

‘Pupils are now leaving primary school better prepared for the rigours of secondary school and for future success in their education.’ The figures also showed that the number of schools considered to be under-performing in terms of pupils’ Sats scores has dropped.

A total of 511, or 4 per cent, of mainstream primary schools in England failed to meet the official baseline standard this year. In 2016, it was 665, or 5 per cent. Schools are seen as under-performing if fewer than 65 per cent of pupils reach expected standards in reading, writing and maths, or if they fail to make sufficient progress in the three key areas.

Alan Smithers, professor of education at the University of Buckingham, said: ‘The leap in Sats results is extremely encouraging.

‘They show that if you expect more of children, they and their schools can raise their game. They are a vindication of the more rigorous curriculum.’

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT headteachers’ union, said: ‘The data reflects the tireless efforts of school leaders in preparing young people.’

Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: ‘Any genuine improvement in standards is to be applauded.’ But he warned: ‘We should be cautious about placing too much confidence in our own testing regime since grade boundaries and marks can be manipulated.’

The figures show regional variations, with 1 per cent of schools in London falling below the baseline standard compared to 5 per cent in the South West and the Midlands.

Children eligible for free school meals are also less likely to succeed, with 43 per cent achieving expected standards compared with 64 per cent of other pupils.

It was also revealed that free schools and sponsor academies – those forced to convert because of poor performance – did not perform as well as those run by local authorities. The figures come a week after international PIRLS tests in literacy for nine-year-olds showed England jumped from joint 10th place to 8th from 2011-2016.

‘Tireless efforts of school leaders’