Commenting on the Government’s proposals for primary assessments,
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers
and Lecturers (ATL), said: “ATL welcomes today’s proposals that
could see the end of national tests for seven-year-olds. We have
long campaigned for an end to national testing for all primary
school children and we are pleased that the Government appears,
finally, to be listening.
“As we learned from last year’s tests, seven-year-olds are too
young for formal exams and suffer stress and worry at a time when
they’re supposed to be learning to love school and grow in
confidence rather than fearing failure.
“In today’s proposals, the Government also suggests
re-introducing baseline assessment at the start of school. We
have shown through our research that national assessment of
five-year-olds disrupts the start of school at a time when young
children need to feel settled, not judged. Every teacher uses
their expertise to assess where every child starts and how they
need to develop, so we question whether this needs a
Government-prescribed assessment which isn’t reliable enough to
provide a measure of progress.
“Introducing national testing of times tables seems to be more
about providing data to Ministers than actually helping teachers
teach and children learn. We know teachers already make sure this
vital maths skill is part of children’s daily lessons and is
regularly checked within class so it doesn’t need a national
test.
“Teachers will welcome commitments to look again at what areas
they assess in children’s writing. Recent changes have led to a
needless focus on making sure children use semi-colons and
fronted adverbials rather than first developing their love of
language and creativity.
“Looking at proposals for Key Stage 2, we know that last year's
tests for 11-year-olds were too difficult, caused distress for
children and confusion for teachers through chaotic
implementation where nobody knew what to expect or what the pass
marks were. Some changes have been made for this year, and we
will be working closely with our members to understand whether
those changes have gone far enough.
“We look forward to engaging with this consultation and working
towards a deeper change to assessment and accountability. We hope
the Government will continue to listen and act upon the expertise
of teachers and leaders.”
