No more 'SATs' under Tories
Unions welcome Tory plans to scrap curriculum tests in primary schools
Monday 15 June 2009
Related articles
Controversial national curriculum tests for 11-year-olds will be scrapped if the Conservatives win the next general election.
The tests, dubbed "SATs" and taken by 600,000 children in the final year of primary school in maths, English and science, will instead be sat by students as soon as they start secondary school.
The pledge was immediately welcomed by both the National Union of Teachers and the National Association of Head Teachers who have threatened to boycott the tests next summer on the grounds they narrow the curriculum on offer. This is as a result of teachers spending too much time coaching for the tests so their schools do well in government primary school league tables, the unions say.
Schools Minister Vernon Coaker described the Conservatives' plan as "half baked" and said it would remove all accountability from primary schools.
Announcing the move on BBC 1's Andrew Marr Show yesterday, Michael Gove, the Conservatives' schools spokesman, said the move would "free the final year of primary school for teaching in the broadest sense".
Most secondary schools already test students on arrival because they mistrust SATs results, believing 11-year-olds have been coached to pass and often lack understanding of subjects.
Mr Gove insisted the Conservatives would still publish the primary league tables, "The results can be traced back to the primary school of origin."
But he said the Tories model would give a "more rigorous assessment" of what primary schools had achieved than the current tests, which turned to chaos last summer when thousands of results were delayed. Mr Gove said the system had "descended into meltdown on Ed Balls' (the Schools Secretary's) watch". He argued that even now the results were published too late for parents to use the previous year's tables to determine which school to select for their children.
Mr Gove said the tests would be internally marked by secondary school teachers and there would be random checks by outside markers. The new system would save money, he added, "although this is not the prime motive".
Mick Brookes, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, welcomed the move, "It would free up Year Six (the final year of primary school) for teaching which is the zenith of our opposition to the SATs". He would welcome further discussions with the Conservatives, he said, as there would be a "perverse incentive for the secondary schools to depress the results so they looked better on adding value to pupils' education at GCSE".
If the election is delayed until next June, the Conservatives would not be able to introduce their changes in time for next year's tests but Mr Brookes indicated it might be possible to come to "some kind of transitional arrangement" to avoid a boycott. Both the NUT and NAHT are due to ballot on a boycott by the autumn.
John Bangs, head of education at the NUT, said: "I think this is a genuinely interesting move. It does show flexibility and we welcome that. At least the Conservatives are addressing the problem of the tests." He thought the pledge had been agreed "out of a desire by the Conservatives not to start off a new administration with a dispute with the teachers' unions".
However, he said it would be "almost virtually impossible" to track the test results to the primary schools where pupils had come from. The union argues that the league tables should be abolished and Mr Bangs said primary schools would still feel under pressure to coach for the tests if league tables were still to be published.
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said the proposal was merely "shifting the deckchairs of the Titanic" and that pupils would still be under the same pressures. Mr Coaker said it was "a huge step backwards for school accountability". Parents, he argued, wanted and had a right to information about primary school performance.
The former Schools Minister Lord Adonis said he was "amazed" by the proposal, "What they are effectively doing is removing all public accountability from primary schools."
-
Pope Francis: Being an atheist is alright as long as you do good
-
That's some guestlist! Stunning images show huge dynastic wedding between Ultra-Orthodox Jewish families which attracted 25,000 guests
-
Man and woman arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder victim of Woolwich machete attack, named as Drummer Lee Rigby
-
'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Horrific attack brings terror to London’s streets
-
Exclusive: Suspect was inspired by cleric banned from UK after urging followers to behead enemies of Islam
- 1 Pope Francis: Being an atheist is alright as long as you do good
- 2 Man and woman arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder victim of Woolwich machete attack, named as Drummer Lee Rigby
- 3 'Sickening, deluded and unforgivable': Horrific attack brings terror to London’s streets
- 4 Archaeologists uncover nearly 5,000 cave paintings in Burgos, Mexico
- 5 Woolwich attack: The EDL will seek to exploit this evil crime for their own evil ends
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Making reading fun for kids
Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.
Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign
Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Day In a Page
The man who's eaten everywhere
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?
Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed
Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them






Comments