Primary Teacher UK

SATs in June?

From the TES: Plans to move Sats from May to June next year have thrown hundreds of primaries’ school trips into limbo and cast doubt over the proposed primary leaving certificate. Heads are also upset that their pupils will now miss out on a lot of what they believe is the most rewarding part of the year and that they will not be with their pupils when they receive their results.

Shifting national tests for 11-year-olds from the second week in May to “the middle of June” was recommended by the Government’s expert group on assessment last week and accepted by ministers who plan to introduce the change from 2010. They believe it will prevent primary teachers from reducing their emphasis on maths and English in the second half of the summer term, leaving pupils “under prepared and out of practice” for secondary school.

But because the exact new Sats date has yet to be fixed, schools that want to take pupils on residential activity weeks in the summer term and are now being expected to pay deposits, do not know whether to confirm their bookings. There are also fears that some could miss out altogether because the window between Sats and the end of term, when most schools want to book the trips, will now be so much shorter.

The change threatens another of the expert group’s recommendations - the primary graduation certificate designed to recognise Year 6 pupils’ achievements across a broad range of areas. The experts wanted it to “highlight the child’s strengths before he or she progresses to secondary school”. But, according to the group, the biggest measure of their academic achievements - Sats results - “will not be available before the start of the autumn term”.

Janis Burdin, head of Moss Side Primary School in Leyland, Lancashire, marks her pupils’ achievements with a special leavers assembly, but she will no longer be able to give out academic awards if the Sats results come out the following term. She is also unhappy that she will have less time to ask for re-marks and will not be with pupils when their results arrive. If someone has not done as well as expected we will reassure them and where they have done very well we will share their elation,” she said. “But that will all be lost.”

Many primaries take pupils away on activity weeks after the Sats. JCA, a company that organises such trips for hundreds of schools, has already been contacted by several worried about what will happen next year. Janie Burt, managing directorof JCA, said: “It is not clear what is happening regarding the timetable for Sats and most schools like to book 12-18 months in advance, so this could prevent many having the opportunity to take their Year 6 group away.”

Primary League Tables and analysis released

Schools Minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry today praised the hard work of pupils and teachers across the country as the Department for Children, Schools and Families published the Primary School Achievement and Attainment Tables.

The results showed record numbers of children achieving the expected level in English, maths and the two subjects combined. Science results remained stable with 88 per cent of 11-year-olds reaching the expected level.

The final, revised national figures showed that:

• 73 per cent of children left primary school having reached the expected level in English and maths, compared with 53 per cent in 1997;
• A record 81 per cent achieved Level 4 at English, a 1 percentage point rise from 2007;
• 79 per cent reached the expected level in maths compared to 77 per cent in 2007;
• Figures for science remain stable with almost nine out of 10 students reaching level four in the subject; and,
• 87 per cent of pupils reached the expected level in Reading while 68 per cent achieved Level 4 for writing.

Leagues tables, including some discussion on each area is available on the Telegraph website.

Elementary Reports Discount Code

It may be a while till you think about writing your reports for this year but you can still decide which program to use.  Until the end of BETT2009 you can get a great discount on the single user versions of Elementary Reports.  Enter discount code SW3 at checkout to get £5 off the annual subscription licence or £20 off the 'Lifetime' licence. :)

Lord Sutherland's inquiry into SATs

Lord Sutherland's inquiry into SATs last year says that the QCA watchdog "failed its remit".  As a result the QCA has disbanded its assessment agency and suspended chief executive Ken Boston.  Lord Sutherland told a news conference in London there had been a culture within the QCA and its National Assessment Agency (NAA) that "it'll be all right on the night".

The report found that primary responsibility for this summer's failures fell at the feet of ETS Europe.  It said:

"The inquiry believes that ETS was responsible for ensuring its delivery model worked.  In practice, it is clear that ETS failed to conduct such testing as was necessary to ensure that its process and systems were fit for purpose and could deliver.  In practice, failures occurred at almost every stage of the test delivery process in 2008 from the registration of pupils to the presentation of results."

The QCA was blamed for failing to identify relevant information regarding ETS's reputation and track record, which has previously been brought into question in the US.  The report said:

"The QCA should have carried out additional due diligence to assess potential suppliers' reputation and track record.  Had such checks been conducted, a more rounded understanding of the suppliers could have been formed."

In a statement responding to Lord Sutherland’s independent inquiry, Ed Balls said:

“The delivery of this summer’s National Curriculum tests for 11 and 14 year olds was a shambles.  I want to say to all the teachers, pupils, parents and markers who have been affected, how sorry I am for all their inconvenience, stress and frustration.  What happened this year was completely unacceptable.  It was because I was determined to get to the bottom of exactly what went wrong and to make sure that it does not happen again that, in July, I asked Lord Sutherland to conduct an independent inquiry. I laid a copy of Lord Sutherland’s final report before the House at 2.30pm this afternoon. I have already acted to ensure that all his recommendations will be implemented in full.”

Lord Sutherland's full report can be read here: http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/hc0809/hc00/0062/0062.asp

EdExcel to run SATs next year

According to the Guardian the QCA intends to award the contract to run the Sats tests to Edexcel, the exam company which set and marked the tests for three years before this year's disastrous collapse.  The announcement that Edexcel will be the preferred bidder for next year's contract comes as little surprise after it was employed to help clear up the mess left by ETS and oversee pupil appeals against erroneous marks. But it gives a firm guarantee that the government is not going to scrap the Sats for 11-year-olds as well.  Jerry Jarvis, managing director of Edexcel, said:

"We are very pleased to be named by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority as the preferred bidder to deliver the national curriculum tests in 2009. We understand that efficient results and quality of marking are very important to students, parents and teachers and we look forward to reassembling the team who successfully delivered the contract in 2005, 2006 and 2007."

Schools to face closure for poor SATs results?

A controversial scheme under which secondary schools in England with exam results below a minimum level face closure could be extended to primaries according to some reports today.  According to the BBC ministers have yet to announce what the floor target will be, but the head of education at the National Union of Teachers, John Bangs, is among those who think, if it goes ahead, it is likely to be 65% of pupils attaining both English and maths at Level 4.

The Guardian however is reporting that a spokeswoman for the DCSF said speculation that the scheme was to be extended to primaries was "nonsense".  "We are not moving to a National Challenge for primary schools," she said.

As my friend put it today - 'the government are having a larrrrf'

SATs to end (for 14year olds) and a new Report Card

Ed Balls announced yesterday that the Government plans to introduce a new School Report Card, to give parents a new, simpler and more comprehensive way of understanding schools’ performance and achievements.

The new School Report Cards (The DCSF use this site as an example of what the new cards are based on) are part of wider changes to strengthen schools’ accountability to parents and the public, raise school standards, and reform pupil testing and assessment. The Government will set out detailed proposals on report cards for consultation with schools, parents and the public by the end of this year, leading to a White Paper in spring 2009.

Ed Balls said that externally marked Key Stage 2 tests were critically important and would continue as the key source of information for parents and the public about standards in primary schools – with ‘single level’ tests remaining a potential alternative for tests at age 11 in the future.

He announced that he was ending schools’ requirement to run national tests for 14 year olds, with immediate effect. The current compulsory national tests at the end of Key Stage 3 will be replaced by improved classroom assessment by teachers and frequent reporting to parents in years 7, 8 and 9, with a stronger focus on one-to-one tuition and catch up support for children in the first years of secondary school.
A new expert group, made up of headteachers and education professionals, will advise on the details of the new arrangements. The group will also advise Government on the introduction of national-level sampling at Key Stage 3 so that the performance of the education system as a whole can still be monitored by the public, year on year.

An end to SATs?

The Sats tests could end next year Ed Balls has hinted on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.

"The current system is not set in stone.  We are looking currently at a way in which we could assess progress child by child with individual level tests where the tests would be chosen in a way which was right for the child, rather than everybody doing the same test on the same day.  For 2009, we are going to do the same kind of tests as in previous years before the problems with ETS, but for the long term I am really keen to get this right, to listen."

The BBC have a further article where they ponder what might replace the SATs.  Interesting, if not disappointing reading, for teachers.

Let's hope that finally some sense is coming to the Government and teachers will finally be trusted to assess children themselves!

The SATs 2008

The BBC have put together an interesting article detailing the whole debacle of the SATs this year.  It details the shortcomings this year and finishing by looking at what are the possibilities for 2009.  As pointed out in the article Dr John Dunford, head of the Association of School and College Leaders:

"In the long term, appointing a new administrator for these tests is akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic."

The Welsh Assembly have already scrapped the tests and they have not been used in Scotland since devolution.  The Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee concluded the national testing system in English schools was being misused to the detriment of children's education.

Ed Balls however is insistent that as long as a new contract is in place by November there is time enough for the same national tests to be run and managed in the summer of 2009. He said:

"The wrong thing for us to do would be to suspend the tests in 2009.  We think that continuing on with externally evaluated national tests is important for parents, schools and education."

We can only wait and see - will next year hold any changes?

Reviews, teenager markers and letters of apology

Following on from the news that teenagers have been marking the SATs the Tories are now going to have their own review of the SATs fiasco alongside Labour's review. Ed Balls has also written a letter to the Chair of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee, Barry Sheerman, to update him on developments in relation to National Curriculum testing the delivery of Key Stage 2.

"Further to last week’s Select Committee hearing, at which I announced the terms of reference of the Sutherland inquiry, I am writing to update you further on developments in relation to National Curriculum testing and the delivery of 2008 Key Stage Two and Three tests.

As I said when I appeared before your committee last week, our first priority has been to ensure that schools receive their 2008 results in an orderly way with the minimum of delay. I am advised that 98 per cent of Key Stage Two results are now available to schools online, as well as 85 per cent of Key Stage Three results - 93 per cent of maths results, 91 per cent of science results and 71 per cent of English results.

I share the frustration and anger of teachers, children and parents about the delays in the release of test results. Whilst the large majority of test papers have now been marked and results released to schools, I am concerned that schools should get outstanding results as soon as possible.

In a statement issued over the weekend, the QCA have confirmed that they are in discussions with ETS Europe following the unacceptable delays in delivering this year's National Curriculum test results. In that statement, the QCA say that it is considering all available options to allow the timely conclusion of the work for the 2008 test series, and to secure a successful 2009 programme. I attach a copy of the QCA statement.

The contract with ETS Europe was drawn up and has been managed by QCA, at arms length from Ministers, to ensure the independence and objectivity of the testing regime. Any discussions about the contract are legally a contractual matter for the QCA and ETS Europe. At this stage, I believe it is very important and in the public interest that the QCA should be able to conclude these discussions in a timely and orderly fashion in order to safeguard the interests of pupils, schools and taxpayers.

At the same time, Ofqual, the independent regulator of qualifications, exams and tests in England, have assured me that they continue to monitor the quality of the marking of the tests, will consider the evidence in relation to any problems that are brought to its attention, and will act accordingly.

I am determined that we learn the lessons of this year’s experience, and I am confident that Lord Sutherland’s independent inquiry will be of great value in this regard. The independent inquiry will look at all the issues surrounding the test delays, including the specification and procurement of the contract with ETS.

Both the work of Ofqual and the Sutherland inquiry are designed to secure public confidence that the system is being appropriately regulated and scrutinised at arms length from the government, and I hope they will be useful to the Committee’s own activities.

As I said to the Committee last week, I welcome your recent report on testing and assessment, to which we have responded in writing, and I look forward to discussing this in more detail after the summer. I welcome your support for the principle of externally assessed national tests. We do not want to return to the past situation where school accountability was weak, parents lacked good information about their child’s progress, and as a result many children fell behind in their education and development.

At the same time, as I said to the Committee last week, the current testing and assessment regime is not set in stone. Indeed, in the Children’s Plan we highlighted the potential opportunities presented by our Making Good Progress pilot, where pupils are entered for single level tests when their teacher judges them to be ready. One potential advantage of this system is that it could promote more personalised teaching that is focused on helping each child, at whatever level they are working; make the greatest progress they can. Another is that because each child is entered for assessments when teachers judge them to have achieved the standard, the temptation to teach to the test in a narrow way should be reduced.

But it is important we evaluate the case for change before making decisions. As I said to the Committee, the pilot runs to next July and is being externally evaluated. I have asked for an interim report in the autumn, and I will be happy to share this with you.

I very much welcome the constructive work of your Committee in this important area. I will keep you informed of developments over the summer. I look forward to appearing again before you and your Committee members to discuss these matters.

I am copying this letter to the Speaker and to Michael Gove MP and David Laws MP and I have also placed a copy in both libraries of the House.

ED BALLS MP"