Rt Hon Gavin Williamson MP

Secretary of State for Education

6 March 2020

Dear Gavin, 

I am writing to express my concern with reception baseline assessment, as well as the general pressures that arise from standardised testing in primary schools from reception to year 2. While the reception baseline assessment aims to measure pupil progress and reward schools for the work that they do between reception and year 2, the results are often not indicative of pupil ability.  

The campaign group More than a Score has carried out extensive research into the negative consequences of high-pressure testing in primary schools and they specifically call for reception children not to be subjected to testing. In support of this campaign, More than a Score references a letter to the Department of Education in which more than 700 experts on education described the reception baseline assessment as “both pointless and damaging.” Additionally, the British Educational Research Association has called reception baseline assessment “flawed, unjustified and totally unfit for purpose.”

Having looked at the growing evidence, I share the view that early years baseline testing has no place in our schools, for several reasons. 

Firstly, the timing of when tests occur. Six percent of headteachers and other primary school leaders believe that the first few weeks of school should not be spent preparing for tests. Reception baseline assessments also disproportionately disadvantage pupils with summer birthdays, who, at such an early point in their development, can be significantly behind their peers in terms of their cognitive development so early in the school year.  

Secondly, research indicates that phonics testing is ineffective at measuring the progress at early years. Experts have found, for example, that results in the phonics screening check have gone up in recent years, while results in the year 2 Key Stage 1 reading tests have gone down. The phonics test in year 1 is not a reliable indicator of improved reading scores in the following year.  

Thirdly, the Office for Standards in Education notes that the primary school curriculum is narrowing as a result of preparation for the Key Stage 1 SATs in year 2. Researchers have found that formal testing in year 2 diminishes student learning. In many schools across the country, pupils’ SATs results dictate what English and maths sets they are placed in for the rest of primary school. This can affect pupil academic potential by lowering self-esteem and by lowering teacher’s expectations.  

Fourthly, because SATs outcomes can determine a teacher’s pay or school ranking, teachers often alter their curriculum in order to teach their students to the test and maximise the chance of high scores. More than a Score cites several studies that find teachers teach to the limited scope of the test for months on end, narrowing the curriculum to just English and maths (e.g. Clarke et al. 2003; Jones and Egley 2004; Children, Schools and Families Committee 2008; Rothstein et al 2008; Alexander 2010).  

Fifthly, this focus on SATs creates a narrow, inaccessible curriculum that neglects the needs of students with disabilities or special needs. 88% of headteachers surveyed by More than a Score believe that children with special educational needs and disabilities are particularly disadvantaged by testing in primary schools. These students will often spend extra time on just English and maths in order to catch up to SAT standards, at the expense of other subjects. This focus is often unproductive and does not lead to improvements: for example, 76% of headteachers and primary school leaders state that SATs results are an inaccurate way of predicting a pupil’s future performance at secondary school.  

Sixthly, primary school testing is detrimental to teachers. More than a Score found that 86% of primary teachers believe that staff morale has declined in the last two years. 48% of primary teachers said they are considering leaving the profession within the next two years. Of these respondents, 93% cited workload as a factor and 60% cited the rapid pace of the curriculum. Testing is a key element in both. Because testing is a way to rank schools and can affect teacher salary teachers feel pressure to dedicate more classroom time to teaching to test, with knock on effects on their ability to deliver the rest of an ever changing curriculum, which causes further stress.  

Baseline assessment in reception is a particularly ineffectual use of resources, and systemic change is needed so our education system promotes widespread teaching and learning, instead of serving as a way to rank schools. NEU research reveals that the government line that parents want and need statutory tests to choose schools for their children, and to feel reassured about the quality of their children’s education, just doesn’t stack up I therefore hope you will consider the strong evidence against early years testing and cancel  plans to introduce tests in English and maths for four- and five-year-olds when they start school in September.

Yours sincerely,  Caroline