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Sats boycott in '25% of schools' | Sats boycott in '25% of schools' |
(about 3 hours later) | |
The tests are compulsory in England | The tests are compulsory in England |
A quarter of England's primary schools took part in the teachers' union boycott of Sats tests earlier this year. | |
Nearly three-quarters of schools administered the compulsory tests, the Department for Education said. | Nearly three-quarters of schools administered the compulsory tests, the Department for Education said. |
Education Secretary Michael Gove said there were "flaws" in the testing system and that it would be reviewed, but they would go ahead next year. | Education Secretary Michael Gove said there were "flaws" in the testing system and that it would be reviewed, but they would go ahead next year. |
Many teachers say the tests are too crude a measure of pupil performance. | |
In particular, they object to how the test results are used in league tables. | |
About 600,000 10 and 11-year-olds were due to take the national schools tests in May. | About 600,000 10 and 11-year-olds were due to take the national schools tests in May. |
But members of the National Association of Head Teachers and the National Union of Teachers voted to boycott the tests. | But members of the National Association of Head Teachers and the National Union of Teachers voted to boycott the tests. |
Boycott patchy | Boycott patchy |
The tests, introduced in the mid-1990s, were brought in to enable comparisons of primary schools and pupils. | |
These unions say the tests are bad for children's education - because teachers spend so much time preparing for the tests that it squeezes out other lessons. | |
They are also deeply opposed to the league tables drawn up from the results of the tests. | They are also deeply opposed to the league tables drawn up from the results of the tests. |
But teachers' unions were divided over the protest - with the NASUWT teachers' union rejecting the boycott. | |
Both the Labour party, which was in office at the time of the tests, and the Conservative party, criticised the boycott. | |
Among schools who took part in the boycott, some schools completely refused to carry out the tests and carried out other activities instead. | |
Others used previous years' papers so that they could monitor their own pupils' progress without the information being used for national league tables. | Others used previous years' papers so that they could monitor their own pupils' progress without the information being used for national league tables. |