From next year it will be compulsory for every Year 4 student to sit a quick five–minute times table test. It’s already been piloted in some schools and already there are critics crawling out of the woodwork. Some are bemoaning that children are being taught to the test and others have complained it’s making the…
Primary schools up and down the country would have received this year’s SATs results yesterday and spent all day digesting the figures to see where they stand. And with predictable great timing, a survey of primary school teachers was published yesterday morning just as headteachers were crunching the headline figures. Low and behold, 97% of…
As Year 6 children up and down the country sit for their Key Stage 2 SATs this week, the question of whether we’re putting too much stress on 11 year-olds continues. Testing is crucial if we’re to measure a child’s progress and ensure they are helped to improve and be the best they can be.…