27th April 2016 1:00
By Blue Tutors
The government is shelving plans to introduce baseline testing for primary school pupils. The tests were intended to be a starting point from which the government could measure pupil’s progress through primary schools, and rate the success of schools. However, a study carried out on behalf of the Department for Education has concluded that the tests are unreliable, and said that it would be unfair to schools and students to use the tests as a measure. The government has said that for now they will not use the tests as a means to measure school progress.
The government had planned to allow schools to choose exams from three different providers to assess literacy and numeracy. The available options were Early Excellence, Durham University’s Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, and the National Foundation for Educational Research. However, a study carried out on behalf of the department for education has concluded that the tests were not sufficiently comparable, and showed that children of the same ability could achieve very different results from each provider. The study recommended that the plan be put on hold until it was possible to standardise the tests.
The National Association of Head Teacher has said that that government had “outsmarted itself” by choosing multiple assessment providers, none of which adequately compare to each other. They said that the outcome of the study had been predicted many months ago by teaching unions, and that the government’s refusal to consult with educators had cost them dearly. Labour said that it was alarming that the government had taken such a piecemeal approach to primary education policy, and that they were wasting time and resources by not listening to teachers. The government announced that they would continue research into how to produce adequate baseline testing in primary schools.