National tests for primary schools could rank pupils

The government has put forward proposals for new measures which would see youngsters in England put into 10 per cent bands or deciles, based on their achievements in tests.

Parents would then be told their child’s position, for example that they are in the top 10 per cent in the country in a particular subject.

The move is part of a package of measures set out by ministers which they say will help to raise the bar on achievement in primaries and ensure that youngsters are ready for secondary school. The plans, outlined by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, contain measures to scrap national curriculum levels and introduced a new scoring system which is used in international tests.

The problems with the tests at the end of primary school are well documented – Brian Lightman, ASCL

Schools face being labelled as under-performing if they fail to ensure that more pupils reach higher standards in English and maths tests and 11-year-olds will be expected to gain higher results in their national curriculum tests. Primaries will need to make sure that more of their pupils are reaching these new tougher standards, or face instant Ofsted inspections and being singled out for improvement measures.

Under the current system, children are required to reach Level 4 in English and maths at the end of primary school, with primaries expected to ensure that 65 per cent of their pupils achieve this standard. They are also measured on the progress they make between ages seven and 11.

But ministers are proposing that from 2016, schools will need to have at least 85 per cent of their students reaching the new higher standard.

‘Fondness for testing’

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said: “The government has a fondness for testing young children in the belief that the tests create reliable measures of performance. They don’t. And, by relying only on what can be measured, they risk missing what matters.

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said: “The problems with the tests at the end of primary school are well documented. Most secondary schools re-test pupils at the start of year 7 because they don’t trust the accuracy of data they have to work with.

The government is also consulting on bringing in a new “baseline assessment” to ensure children are making progress, which could be “a simple check of a child’s ability” in their first weeks of compulsory schooling, or maintaining existing teacher-marked tests at age seven.