A committee appointed by the Welsh Assembly has recommended that testing for 11 and 14 year olds in Wales should be abolished

Jane Davidson, minister for education and lifelong learning in Wales, welcomed the publication of Professor Richard Daugherty's interim report.

Forum Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Gwen Evan's, deputy general secretary at ATL, said: "One of the great things about Jane Davidson and her team is that they know expertise when they see it and they have the confidence to draw on quality advice, even when that advice contains radical solutions.

"Not only was Professor Daugherty's working group itself powerfully well-informed about assessment but they were also determined to listen to a wide range of well-informed witnesses. No wonder they have come up with genuinely workable ways forward.

"These proposals give a real boost to learning in Wales.

"Ideally we would want to assume that in due course England would draw on Wales' work - but we're not holding our breath since London's politicians are still suffering from tunnel vision on assessment."

Forum Response: Professional Association of Teachers

Peter Morris, chairman of PAT's Welsh Executive Committe, said; "We welcome the preliminary findings of the Review Group and hope that the final report in March will recommend a much greater use of teacher assessment.

"Tests are putting children under increased stress and they don't give the best measure of individual pupils' ability. Testing places extra stress on teachers and parents too.

"We welcome the greater use of teacher assessment, as this will allow teachers to educate children rather than teach them to pass tests and will give a much more accurate picture of children's educational development."

Forum Response: National Union of Teachers

Doug McAvoy, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "I welcome Professor Daugherty's commitment to ensure that assessment enhances teaching and children's learning. His review has gone a long way in tackling the damaging, high-stakes nature of National Curriculum tests.

"The NUT will examine closely his proposals for skills tests. Currently schools feel constrained to use a vast array of commercial tests for checking children's progress. That pressure on schools must be reduced and skills tests may be the answer. What must not happen, however, is that skills tests simply become a replacement for the current discredited National Curriculum tests.

"The government in England cannot ignore the way in which the Wales Assembly government and the Daugherty review have conducted themselves on assessment. In Wales there is a genuine and open debate on the purpose of assessment which all school communities in England are currently denied."