Assessment campaign

Secondary assessment

This country’s over-reliance on a rigid, one size fits all exam system, and government's continued insistence on defunding BTECs and CAMTECs, in defiance of all expert opinion and evidence, is unsustainable and doesn’t meet the various challenges facing young people, our society and our economy in the 21st century.

After the challenges of 2020 and 2021, Government must make sure GCSE, A-level and vocational qualifications in 2022 are robust, fair and centred around the needs of every student in our schools.

The assessment system needs to change, and the teaching profession is brim full of experts who understand the lessons we can learn from the pandemic.

The NEU have been working for the past year alongside academics, parents and students to support the Independent Assessment Commission (IAC), to build a new, fairer and more robust assessment and qualification system.

What you can do:

Watch and share NEU Joint General Secretary Mary Bousted's film on reforming assessment

Find out about the NEU's work with the New ERA commission, and their plans to build an alternative assessment and qualifications system

Read the interim report of the New ERA commission, published September 2021

Primary assessment

The high-stakes testing system in primary schools is not fit for purpose. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted even further the flaws in this system.

After two years in which SATs and other formal tests have been cancelled, the union is working with More Than A Score to make the case against a return to the previous system of primary tests.

What you can do:

Sign and share the More Than A Score petition calling for a halt to high-stakes primary tests

Watch and share the More Than A Score Baseline video starring comedian Zoe Lyons

Read the More Than A Score campaign dossier against high-stakes primary tests and email your MP