Under a pilot project involving 5,000 schools, teachers' assessments will be combined with tests to provide pupils with an overall mark for maths and English. This is viewed by many teachers as providing a more accurate guide than the current system of administering SATS to seven-year-olds.
Announcing the consultation last week, the DfESsaid, 'These trialled changes to assessment and reporting arrangements will be subject to an independent evaluation commissioned by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority before a decision is taken about any national roll-out. The findings of this consultation will be given consideration as part of this evaluation.'
In the pilot schools the overall mark for each subject will be the only one given to parents in pupil reports and passed to the DfES via the local education authority. This information would also be passed to any school a pupil moved to.
The consultation also proposes a reduction in the amount of duplicate information teachers have to provide on children's progress, easing an administrative burden.
At the moment schools have to give whole-school and national results to parents in the governors' annual report and in school prospectuses. The DfES is proposing to remove the requirement that parents of children in the final year of Key Stages 1 to 3 also receive this information as part of their child's report.
The DfEs also proposes that schools should hold the Personal Education Plan of children in care as part of their educational record. It also wants to extend to Scotland and Wales the current requirement for schools to transfer educational records when a child moves to a different school in England.
The consultation document on Pupil Information can be viewed on the website www.dfes.gov.uk and is available from the DfES publications centre on 0845 60 222 60. Responses must be received by 30 April.
The DfES will publish the results of the consultation in June.