It is also recommends that the EYFS profile assessment, carried out at the end of Reception year, be made non-statutory.
The report from the Independent Commission on Assessment in Primary Education (ICAPE), whose members include teachers, headteachers and researchers, recommends all Government testing of primary school pupils be removed, changing the focus from school and teacher league tables to children’s learning.
Based upon years of research, two separate surveys of parents and educators and the expertise of its commissioners, the report argues that current policies and practices of primary assessment are in need of ‘urgent reform’, making a number of recommendations that would overhaul the current system, including:
- Removing ‘high stakes assessments’ – Reception Baseline (introduced in September 2021), the phonics screening check (Year 1), Key Stage 1 SATS (Year 2) and the Multiplication Tables Check (Year 4) – immediately and replacing them with more emphasis on teacher assessment.
- Making the EYFS profile (carried out at the end of Reception) non-statutory.
- Phasing out Year 6 SATS.
- Producing a profile of evidence as proof of children’s learning and attainment across primary school, drawing on a variety of assessment methods that reflects pupils’ wider achievements, as well as their performance in key subjects.
- Assessing children in Year 1 and again in Year 4 to allow educators to identify gaps in learning and for improvements to be made, not to measure school as is currently the case. These assessments would take place at times throughout the school year and would be suitable to the individual needs of each child.
ICAPE says that findings from its surveys, which received 1,124 responses from educators and 536 responses from parents, suggest wide support for the recommendations, with 93 per cent of educators and 82 of parents who responded stating they were ‘unsatisfied or ‘very unsatisfied’ with the system of statutory assessment.
More than three-quarters of both teachers and parents agreed that there should be no Government tests in primary schools.
ICAPE is co-chaired by Professors Dominic Wyse and Alice Bradbury from IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society.
'Commissioners agreed that assessment should serve the purpose of improving children's learning, rather than being used to judge schools'
Professor Bradbury said, ‘The results of our survey of educators show that Baseline continues to be a very unpopular assessment; when asked if it benefitted children's learning, over 60 per cent disagreed.
'The commissioners all agreed that assessment should serve the purpose of improving children's learning, rather than being used to judge and compare schools. The purpose of Baseline has always been to assess schools' performance, and so we agreed that it should be removed immediately in a reformed assessment system.’
She added, ‘Our recommendations will ensure good practice in assessment and that standards are maintained and improved. Our research shows the need to move away from high pressure tests that only tell us how a child performs on a specific day. We recommend implementing more flexible assessments by teachers that showcase a child’s successes and identify areas in which they need help. A key principle that emerged from the work of the commission was that assessment should be designed to support inclusive education for all children.’
Professor Wyse said, ‘This report shows there is a growing consensus that the current assessment system does not benefit children, and in fact can be detrimental to their mental wellbeing. The findings demonstrate the need to develop and then implement a much better assessment and curriculum system in order to deliver an exciting and balanced education that parents and teachers want, and children deserve. Crucially this will be an assessment system designed to help children's learning, not to judge schools' performance.’
A Department for Education spokesperson said, 'This year more than ever, primary assessments play a vital role in helping schools understand pupils’ progress and identify those who may have fallen behind, so they can be provided with extra support if needed.
'The assessments this year have also provided valuable evidence for the department to measure the impact of the pandemic and pupils’ progress over the coming years.'