Commenting after the passing of motion 11 at NEU Annual Conference, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Designed for accountability, rather than teaching and learning, SATs are not a useful or accurate way of assessing what children can do at the end of their primary education.
“SATs place intense pressure on children, families and educators. The curriculum has narrowed; teachers are forced to teach ‘to the test’; children are losing sleep – all in the name of holding schools to account.
“Conference has made it clear that SATs have no place in our primary schools and that great change is needed. Much work has been done already to develop alternatives to our current assessment system, including the Independent Commission on Assessment in Primary Education (ICAPE) which provides policymakers with a long-term, workable vision for a better assessment system.
“It’s time for the government to make meaningful use of this work, as well as the views of families and educators, and make our assessment system fit for purpose.”