2nd April 2017 1:00
By Blue Tutors
Education secretary, Justine Greening, has proposed that the SATs taken by seven year olds in order to test the national Curriculum in reading, writing and maths, should no longer be statutory. The Department of Education has proposed an earlier informal assessment by teachers in the reception year, right at the beginning of formal schooling, as a more indicative alternative, which would then be used to measure the student’s progress against later formal SAT assessments at the end of primary school.
Interested parties across the education industry, including parents and teachers, have fought the tests given research showing the increased levels of exam stress experienced by students. Several parents took their children out of school in protest during last year’s assessments. Teachers unions have welcomed the consultation as removing KS1 SATs would move the focus of primary school education to developing students’ skills and confidence, delivering a “rich educational experience”, as opposed to simply preparing for “high stakes” assessments.
The replacement by a more ongoing assessment by teachers at the beginning of school, as opposed to a formal written examination, aims to reduce pressure on young children as well as teachers. Comparing incoming students’ ability to 11+ level examinations would give a more holistic sense of a school’s teaching over the primary years in terms of students’ learning. Yet, there is a body of evidence to suggest that scores in assessments at age 5 are not a good predictor of outcomes at age 11 and it would therefore not be a good measure to assess the quality of education a pupil has received during this time. Educational professions are also sceptical about moving assessment to even earlier ages, as the last attempt at baseline testing in 2015/16 was a resounding failure. Equally, as assessment typically leads to narrower curriculum, many say it is inappropriate at such a young age and will shift the focus to formal teaching and assessment instead of instilling an all-important love of learning and enjoyment of school.
The education secretary maintains that the government’s recent amendments to the primary school curriculum will ensure that all children will be given the basic literacy and numeracy skills, however we now need to “developing a stable assessment system” to enable teachers to focus on teaching as opposed to exams. There needs to be a careful balance between leaving schools to teach, and the need for accountability, which almost inevitably takes the form of assessment. It is important that schools, teachers, parents and the research community continue to engage with government during the consultation in order to achieve a system that works for everyone. In any case, any changes will only come into effect in the early 2020s, meaning there are still several years of SAT preparation to come.