Commenting on the announcement of a new mandatory Year 8 reading test, as part of the Schools White Paper, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Everyone values reading, but the government is failing to address the reasons why too many students disengage from learning. The 'exam factory' culture of past governments has had a clear negative impact on the curriculum, forcing it to become narrow and stale.
“The Curriculum and Assessment Review was set up to examine this question as a whole. The government are pre-empting its findings with this announcement. Many professionals will be asking why they bothered contributing to the review if the government are not interested in its conclusions.
“This new test will tell teachers little they do not already know about their pupils' capabilities. The teaching of reading in our schools should not be only about proficiency but about developing pupils' enjoyment of reading. Introducing another formal test is unlikely to support this.”