There are serious question marks against every aspect of our assessment and examination system.
The new Baseline test for reception children is unwanted, unnecessary and unfair. The NEU is campaigning to force the Government to halt the introduction of Baseline in 2020/21: in the current crisis it is the last thing children and schools need. We have model letter for NEU reps to send to their head and model letter for heads to send to the Government, raising their concerns.
Research commissioned by the National Education and carried out by University College London, has exposed the problems of the government’s new Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) for assessing four-year-olds on entry to their primary schools. Read the research report.
Too Much Testing : the alternative for England
The Westminster Government wants to hold on to its SATs-based system of primary assessment. It is increasingly isolated in this. In a recent YouGov poll of parents, 73% thought children were under too much pressure because of standardised testing and 61% believed there was too much testing. In a 2019 survey, 97% of 54,000 NEU members voted to abolish SATs.
There is a contradiction between what is required by the Westminster Government and what works for children and teachers. The NEU believes that the framework for a different model already exists. Read our leaflet on the alternative.
The political support for the alternative
Most political parties are opposed to Baseline and other high stakes tests. At NEU Annual Conference 2019, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Lib Dem education spokesperson Layla Moran announced their intention to scrap SATs.
It’s time for the Government to listen and move to an assessment system that trusts teachers and values children as individuals, not as data.
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Share our council motion model letter
Download and share our council motion model letter on high-stakes testing in primary schools with your Councillor
Assessment resources
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Assessment
Research into the 2019 Pilot of Reception Baseline Assessment
The UCL Institute of Education research, teachers’ lack of trust in Baseline is made abundantly clear. The report reveals the impact of the new test on pupils’ first experience of schools.
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Too much Too young
Baseline Assessment is due to to be rolled out in September 2020. Find out what teachers think about Baseline.
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Assessment
Too Much Testing - the alternative
The Westminster Government wants to hold on to its SATs-based system of primary assessment. The NEU alternative is based around a core set of principles that aims to put children's learning at the heart of education.
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Assessment
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Assessment
Council motion model letter
Download and share our council motion on high-stakes testing in primary schools with your Councillor
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Assessment
Baseline motion for primary schools
Call a meeting to discuss and agree as a group, this motion opposing the pilot.