In an interview on BBCBreakfast Mr Clarke said, 'We are not getting rid of them, but we are open to looking at ways of making the tests less stressful than they appear to be.'
A Department for Education and Skills spokeswoman later confirmed that the Government was ready to listen to concerns about the pressure of the tests.
'We are happy to engage in a debate about content and process, but testing is central to raise standards,' she said, amid signs that some parents are insisting that their children are not made to do the tests.
Diane Rich, national professional officer of Early Education, said she had been inundated with calls from parents concerned about the pressure on their children, with some withdrawing them from the SATs. She told of one parent who did not want her seven-year-old daughter to do the SATs, who was given ten minutes' notice by the headteacher to come and collect her from school or she would be forced to sit the tests.
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