Report finds SATs have a host of negative effects on primaries

SATs have negative impacts on pupil wellbeing, teacher autonomy, and the breadth of the primary curriculum, according to a report by campaign group More Than A Score and thinktank the Education Policy Institute.

The report was commissioned to look at what we mean by primary school standards and whether Government tests are a good indication of these.

The report says: “Current year 6 SATs test a child’s ability in reading, writing and maths, measuring technical abilities, rather than the more complex skills of creativity, teamwork and critical thinking. Given that SATs data is used to measure school performance and set standards, participants shared concerns that this narrow breadth of assessment can lead to ‘teaching to the test’ and narrowing of the curriculum. The key question arose of whether our standards setting system is ‘the tail that wags the dog’ and drives what is taught in schools, rather than the other way around.” epi.org.uk/publications-andresearch/re-defining-standards-inenglish-primary-education neu.org.uk/assessment/primaryand-early-years-assessment