Calls to change schools’ ‘one-off' exam system
The Government should move away from relying on "one-off high-stakes" tests for primary school pupils and replace them with shorter online assessments, education specialist suggest.
EducationthinktankEDSK saythewayprimaryschoolsare held to account for their performance on tests is distorting the results and reforms to the accountability and assessmentsystem are needed to free up time for teaching and learning,track the progress of pupils and schools in a fair and proportionate way, and accurately monitor national standards.
It suggests that more frequent but shorter assessments should be used in reading, maths, spelling, punctuation and grammar, with pen-andpaper tests replaced with online assessments.
The"one-size-fits-allstandardised nature" of Sats exams should be jettisoned in favour of "adaptive" tests, where pupils are given easier or harder questions depending on their performance in the test, it adds.
Tom Richmond, director of EDSK, warned: "We will never provide a world-class primary education if the Government's only approach to raising standardsis to simply make pupils sit more national tests.
"Requiring pupils to complete so many disconnected one-off high-stakes tests does not help to improve teaching and learning.
“A new approach is needed to reduce the pressure on school leaders and the school curriculum while also improvingthe accuracy and fairness of primary school assessments."
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "We have already introduced a digital assessment to check children know multiplication and we are also exploring other ways to improve assessments through digital technology."