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The House of Commons Education Committee has warned the government about the potentially negative impact of testing and assessments on young children.

 

The committee has released a report calling on the government to lower the stakes in assessments by changing what is usually reported in performance tables. It said that the current approach leads to “teaching to the test” and welcomed the introduction of a baseline measure.

 

However, the committee argued that the baseline measure should be used as a diagnostic tool to identify individuals needs and should not shift the negative impact of Key Stage 1 testing onto younger pupils. The report also raised concerns about the impact of a baseline assessment on pupil’s wellbeing and the increased workload on early years practitioners.

 

Neil Carmichael, chair of the committee, explained: “It is right that schools are held to account for their performance but the government should act to lower the stakes and help teachers deliver a broad, balanced, and fulfilling curriculum for primary school children.”

 

The Alliance has welcomed the report for raising concerns about baseline assessments. Chief executive Neil Leitch, said: “As the report clearly identifies the failures of testing at Key Stage 1, it would be incredibly short-sighted if the government did not learn from these mistakes and instead chose to revisit them with a younger age group.”

 

Neil added: “At this important stage of a child’s life, we should be focussing on fostering a love of learning and supporting their development, not using them as a way to rank and measure schools.” He said reiterated that the Alliance remains firmly opposed to the proposed reintroduction of baseline testing.