End exams for children under 16, says watchdog
· Sats make English pupils most tested in the world· Parents sceptical of league tables, GTC study finds
Will Woodward, chief political correspondent
Monday June 11, 2007
The Guardian
The watchdog for teaching in England yesterday put itself on a collision course with ministers by calling for all national school tests before the age of 16 to be scrapped.
The intervention by the General Teaching Council for England (GTC), which added new weight to long-running demands for a reduction in the testing regime, was firmly rebuffed by the government and the Conservatives.
The Liberal Democrats backed their demands and Jon Cruddas, one of the candidates for Labour's deputy leadership, said he sympathised with the view that children were overburdened with exams.
Compulsory standard assessment tests (Sats) are taken in England at seven, 11 and 14. Pilot schemes launched in January could lead ultimately to the tests being taken when pupils are ready, rather than at fixed points in the year, but ministers regard their existence as non-negotiable.
In evidence to the Commons Education Select Committee's inquiry on pupil assessment, the GTC says most children take an average of 70 different exams or tests before the age of 16, making them the most tested in the world.
The GTC wants "sampling" of standards, covering a few primary and secondary schools, to guide national policy, along with internal school exams held by teachers when they thought appropriate.
The move is significant because the GTC is notionally independent of both the government and the unions. It is responsible for registering teachers and has banned them from helping pupils in Sats exams.
Keith Bartley, chief executive of the GTC, said: "Of course there still needs to be a way of testing pupils when their standard education comes to a close...But placing added stress on pupils, teachers and parents on a regular basis before that time is not creating the best environment for learning. We need to...let them [teachers] do what they are trained for."
The GTC study says parents are sceptical of league tables, created from Sats, GCSE and A-level results, and care more about meeting teachers face to face.
Mr Cruddas said the experience in Wales, where Sats have been scrapped, supported calls for a rethink in England. "I think it's a debate we should have about whether we have gone too far in terms of how much we are testing," he said on Sky News.
Steve Sinnott, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, welcomed the GTC's call. "The government should listen to the evidence instead of insisting on ... a system that constrains more than promotes children's education."
Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman, said: "Teachers should be able concentrate on what's best for their pupils, not feel compelled to teach to national tests. The current system perverts the true purpose of education - children get drilled on how to pass tests, not educated."
