29th December 2010 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The results of primary school tests in Maths and English have recently been released, but amidst controversy surrounding their usefulness, and the fact that many schools have opted not to take part in the tests for 11 year olds. In a report on the BBC it’s explained that the new coalition government have set higher floor targets for schools: that 60% of the pupils should achieve level 4 in both Maths and English upon leaving their primary school. However, for the first time the results also show the improvement that each school had made in the last year.
A quarter of the primary schools in the UK did not stage the tests after a campaign by teachers. It’s argued that the results are misrepresentative, and create a needless naming and shaming process. A spokesperson from the NUT said that showing schools’ improvement is a step in the right direction, but also that the league tables should be scrapped, and replaced by proper teaching assessments, where Ofsted can communicate how well each school is performing.
Despite the missing data from the primary schools which were not involved, the results showed that nearly 1,000 schools fell below the minimum target set by the government. This is roughly 1 in 10 of those schools taking part. However, adjusting for the missing schools, this is still an improvement on the results from 2009.