Children with a SEND or who come from poor backgrounds are not served well by primary school tests, according to a think tank, because they do not allow them to demonstrate what they know and can do.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that less than 10% of school leaders want to keep SATS in their current form, falling to just 7% among primary teachers.
Overwhelmingly primary school professionals want to see the assessment reforms or scrapped, because they do not have benefits for all pupils and narrow the curriculum.
Around one in eight respondents to the survey said that SATs should be replaced, while 39% called for reform. Four out of ten said they should be removed and not replaced with any other formal assessment.
Almost all – 93% – said SATs did not support SEND or disadvantaged children well.
Squeezing out subjects
The report warned the tests can compound disadvantage by narrowing the curriculum in the run-up to exams by squeezing out subjects in which some SEND pupils excel, such as art and music, as well as sports, and trips that poorer pupils are less likely to access outside school.
In IPPR’s interviews, teachers said SATs can fail to capture disadvantaged pupils’ progress or potential. Some test content assumes background knowledge and experiences not all children have had, while the blunt “expected standard” label can leave pupils who have made significant progress feeling they have failed primary school.
The blunt “expected standard” label can leave pupils who have made significant progress feeling they have failed
The authors also found that SATs play a significant role in the recruitment and retention crisis in schools.
Just over half of respondents said SATs played a significant role in influencing teachers’ decision to quit, while 93% said that preparation for and administration of SATs increase stress levels of teachers.
More than seven out of ten said SATs have a negative impact on day-to-day school life.
The IPPR did not call for the abolition of SATs but said the findings should prompt a wider debate about how primary assessment and accountability can be reformed so that it is fairer, broader and better able to support SEND and disadvantaged children.
The think tank will be publishing a report with recommendations later this year.
Negative impact on SEND pupils
Conor Carleton, author of the IPPR report, said: “Our research shows that pupils with special educational needs and disabilities are one of the groups most affected by SATs in their current form.
“90% of primary senior leaders we polled said SEND pupils experience the greatest negative impact from SATs, the highest figure of any group in our research.
“Senior leaders told us that current access arrangements, such as extra time, separate rooms, and readers, are not as inclusive as they seem, and that the system doesn’t meet individual pupils’ needs.
“While our research did not specifically look at the impact of curriculum narrowing on pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, teachers were clear that losing time for subjects like art and music has a real cost for pupils.
“One teacher told us that these are ‘subjects that benefit children who can’t express themselves through maths or reading.’
“That loss is likely to be felt particularly keenly by pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, for whom these subjects can offer a different way to engage and succeed.”
He added: “The system gives disadvantaged pupils a lable that may say more about their circumstances than their potential.
“This is not an argument for abandoning standards or accountability. It is an argument for designing them better.”
Ellie Harris, principal research fellow at IPPR and co-author of the report, said: “The current system asks schools to do one thing while judging them on another. Primary schools are responsible for children’s learning, wellbeing, personal development and transition to secondary school, but SATs capture only a narrow slice of that work.
“For disadvantaged pupils, the trade-offs are particularly sharp.”
Missed opportunities
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: “This report is yet another reminder that the Curriculum and Assessment Review was a fatal missed opportunity.
“It leaves in place a high-stakes, high-pressure system that does not support teaching and learning nor provide meaningful information to teachers and parents.
“It’s time to scrap SATs and end statutory primary assessment”.
