SATS paper was ‘too middle class’, admits exam watchdog

Ofqual says that test criticised by teachers for driving pupils to tears was ‘unduly’ difficult

A SATS test attacked by teachers for being “too middle class” and which left children in tears has been criticised by the exam regulator.

Taken by more than 550,000 pupils in May 2016, the test was “unduly hard”, according to Ofqual.

Around a quarter of the 10 and 11-year-olds students were unable to finish the reading test, which included a passage about two children sneaking away from a party to row across a lake in the grounds.

At the time, teachers claimed that parts of the reading test were inaccessible to pupils who rarely leave their estate, adding that the passages have “no relevance to inner-city children or ones with no or little life skills”. Teachers reported that their students were left in tears by the tests, which they labelled “incredibly difficult”, “ridiculous” and “bloody tough”.

The Department for Education (DFE) has previously defended the tests, saying they “make no apologies” for the questions.

The test, which was specially designed to be more rigorous than previous years to reflect the new curriculum, included questions designed to “stretch” the brightest pupils, who in previous years could have taken a separate test.

“As soon as the reading test had been sat, teachers began to express concerns over its accessibility,” Ofqual’s review into the test found.

It concluded: “On the balance of evidence presented, it seems plausible that the combined impact from multiple ostensibly negligible challenges – stemming from both question and text factors – may have rendered the 2016 reading test unduly hard to access for at least some pupils.”

When the results were published, just two-thirds of pupils had reached the expected standard in reading.

Ministers stressed that the new SATS were not comparable to the previous ones, but said that the new expected standard would be similar to a level 4b, which 80 per cent of children had reached in reading in 2015.

Michelle Meadows, deputy chief regulator of Ofqual, said: “We are reassured that the STA’S approach to sampling from the national curriculum is robust. We have identified specific questions that we will continue to discuss with the STA to help them enhance the validity of the reading and maths tests, over time, for all pupils.”

A DFE spokesperson said: “A good primary education lays the foundations for success at secondary school and beyond. This year’s key stage 2 results show that our curriculum reforms are starting to raise standards.

“It is important to have an assessment system that helps to drive up academic standards.

“That’s why we have reformed the primary assessment system in England to free up teachers to educate and inspire young children, while holding schools to account in a proportionate and effective way.”