Three of the country’s biggest education unions are calling for reform of SATs and league tables.

The NUT teamed up with the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) on 15 December 2010 to launch a joint publication, Common Ground on Assessment and Accountability in Primary Schools. In it, the three unions set out their thinking on a way forward for assessment, school improvement and inspection that will benefit all.

The unions believe SATs should be scrapped in favour of teacher assessment that is subject to external scrutiny. National sampling, where a representative sample of pupils is assessed yearly, is well established in other countries and could replace SATs in England as the main measure of national education standards. Such tests would be anonymous, and results not published in league tables, drastically reducing the pressure and stress currently experienced by Year 6 pupils, teachers and school leaders.

NUT Deputy General Secretary Kevin Courtney said: “We need intelligent accountability – government must trust the professionals.”

The NUT, ATL and NAHT also agree that inspections should be supportive of schools – a shared professional experience between all those involved, rather than an external invasion.

Since the joint boycott of SATs by the NUT and the NAHT in June this year, we have been keenly anticipating any announcements or policy statements on assessment by the new Government.
 

Lord Bew published his final report on the Government-commissioned review of Key Stage 2 assessment and accountability on 23 June 2011. The full report can be viewed here.

The report recommends that:

• The current writing test should be replaced by teacher assessment of writing, which should have the greatest weighting in the overall writing judgement.
• There should be a spelling, grammar, punctuation and vocabulary test as part of writing.
• Maths should continue to be externally tested.
• Reading tests should continue but should be revised over time to focus more on "accuracy, fluency and comprehension".
• Science should continue to be teacher assessed with a sample test to monitor national standards.
• Three-year rolling averages should be introduced to give a rounded picture of a school's performance in the league tables.
• There should be a greater emphasis on the progress of pupils. Any overall judgement of a school by the Government, local authorities or Ofsted should give at least as much weighting to progress as attainment.
• Teacher assessment judgements should continue in English, maths and science, and should be submitted before test results are announced.
  

The report's recommendations are a step in the right direction. Whilst stopping short of recommending an assessment system based entirely on teacher assessment, which would have conflicted with the Government's remit for the review, Lord Bew has made it clear that Government should trust the professionalism of teachers far more and should ensure that its accountability mechanisms are fair for all schools and do not have "unintended consequences" on teaching and learning.

Listening to the NUT

The NUT's statement on Key Stage 2 assessment and accountability, which it produced jointly with NAHT and ATL, has clearly been influential. It is referred to in Lord Bew's report several times and is directly linked to the review's recommendations on:

• greater use of summative teacher assessment to provide a more rounded and balanced picture of each pupil's attainment;
• investment in moderation and professional development;
• greater trust in and empowerment of the profession in a core teaching activity, assessment; and
• greater account of the whole school's achievements, rather than an over-focus on test results, for all accountability measures.

In fact, if it had not been for the NUT's previous action with NAHT on the SATs, the review may never have happened. As the final report says:

"In spring 2010 NAHT and NUT balloted their members on action to boycott the delivery of end of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum Tests. They argued that it was not appropriate to use a single week of externally-marked tests to hold schools publicly accountable... The considerable strength of feeling demonstrated by this action contributed directly to this Review being established."

Next Steps

The Government is currently considering its response to the recommendations made by Lord Bew. As part of this process, the NUT will be urging it to address some of its key concerns about the proposals, in particular:

• the recommendation to limit summative teacher assessment to writing only;
• the introduction of a new writing test for grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary skills;
• the possible introduction of a new reading test which would, like the Year 1 phonics screening check, focus on "accuracy" and "fluency";
• the continued dominance of accountability as the rationale for retaining the maths and reading SATs;
• the inclusion of additional measures in the school league tables and the retention of the headline attainment indicator, rather than their abolition; and
• in the longer term, the potential introduction of year-based testing arising from the National Curriculum review which is currently underway.

Information about the Government's response to Lord Bew's report, and the NUT's reaction to it, will be available here as it becomes available. Keep up to date with future announcements from the NUT by making www.teachers.org.uk your home page.

10 reasons why SATs should go
10 reasons why league tables should go
Making Assessment Measure Up (NUT/ATL)
Statement by the NUT and NAHT

For assessment reform campaign materials and resources, please click here.

The change of government presents an opportunity we should not miss. Both coalition partners have expressed some concerns about the current arrangements. Please email your new MP to seek their support for our viable alternative to SATs and league tables.

We have prepared two different e-mails. One for classroom teachers here and another for members of the leadership group here.

Former Children's Laureate and anti-SATs campaigner Michael Rosen chatted to Mumsnet the Friday before SATs week. Those involved were very supportive of the SATS boycott.

One parent summed up "...our politicians could learn something from Michael Rosen about answering questions ... good luck to anyone involved in fighting against SATs - I hope the campaign succeeds before my little boys (3 and 15 months) have to worry about them."

Contact your MP and candidates in the general election

It's important that members of Parliament and candidates in the forthcoming general election are fully aware of what is wrong with SATs and also know of the NUT's positive alternative proposals.

Please help the campaign today by:

• Sending a n email to your MP using our quick and easy to use electronic lobbying facility.
• Emailing your local candidates at the forthcoming general election. Model text for an email is provided here. If you are unsure of the parliamentary constituency in which you reside you can find out here.

NUT members have overwhelmingly rejected SATs as a way of measuring pupils’ progress.

Margaret Morrissey OBE, of the campaign group Parents Outloud, has written an open letter which explains why she believes that SATs should be abolished. She has given the NUT and NAHT permission to use her letter in its campaign work. This may be a useful resource for working with parents as part of local campaigns.

1. Why does the Government want to keep SATs and why do the NAHT and NUT want to end them?
2. What damage does SATs do to sch

1. How will I know about my child’s progress if there are no SATs?
2. Why does the Government want to keep SATs and why do the NAHT and NUT want to en

Read the Statement by the National Union of Teachers and the National Association of Head Teachers here.