Commenting on the passing of Motion 11 at NEU Annual Conference in Brighton, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"The NEU welcomes the government’s commitment to tackling the decline in reading for pleasure among young people, but introducing a mandatory Year 8 reading test undermines the very aim it seeks to achieve.
“Pigs don’t get fatter the more you weigh them - and children don’t learn to love reading by being tested repeatedly.
"Identifying which children struggle with reading is not the problem. Teachers and schools already know, through their regular interactions with their students, which children find reading challenging and need extra support.
"A new mandatory test at Year 8 will mean more time spent preparing children for a test, diverting valuable time and resources away from teaching a broad, balanced and content-rich curriculum that nurtures a genuine love of reading.
"Reading skills really matter. Instead of a new test, schools need the funding and staffing to provide small group projects on reading for pleasure and one to one support where necessary. We urge the government to urgently rethink these proposals."