Balls shakes up school assessments

15 Oct 08
Schools Secretary Ed Balls has set out how students and parents will have greater involvement in education, as he cancelled Sats tests for 14-year-olds and published the implementation plan for diplomas

16 October 2008

By Paul Dicken

Schools Secretary Ed Balls has set out how students and parents will have greater involvement in education, as he cancelled Sats tests for 14-year-olds and published the implementation plan for diplomas.

In a statement to Parliament on October 14, Balls said 14-year-olds would no longer sit the Standard Assessment Tests. The compulsory national curriculum test at Key Stage Three will be replaced by 'improved classroom assessment by teachers and frequent reporting to parents' through years seven, eight and nine of secondary school.

Balls also announced the introduction of a School Report Card. Based on a system used in New York, the cards will aim to provide more information to parents on schools. A consultation on the cards will begin at the end of the year. Sats tests will continue at Key Stage Two but a 'single-level' test will be piloted for 11-year-olds.

Balls said that tests for 11-year-olds would provide accountability for primary schools – and that GCSEs and A-levels would be sufficient to show the performance of secondary schools, without the need for tests at the age of 14.

The announcement followed the publication on October 12 of the Department for Children, Schools and Families' implementation plan for 14-19 education reforms.

This will aim to ensure young people are involved in the planning and delivery of diplomas, with a national 14-19 learner panel to help 'shape national policy' to be set up next year.

Balls said: 'Every employer knows that the most enthusiastic and motivated workers often get the best results because they really care, and I want the same ambitious spirit in our new education system.'

A new academy will be established to cater for diploma students, sponsored by the construction firm JCB. It is expected to open in 2010. The government also announced that only 12,000 students had started a diploma in September, down from an estimated figure of 39,000.

Schools minister Jim Knight said: 'I want us to win the marathon, not get tripped up in a foolhardy sprint – we are focusing on quality not quantity. You don't make the momentous changes to opportunities for 14 to 19-year-olds that we want to achieve overnight – but we are making good progress.'

PFoct2008

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