Press Release

Government Has Come To Its Senses In Scrapping Key Stage 3 Tests - ATL

14 October 2008

Commenting on the Government’s announcement today that there will not be any further key stage 3 tests, Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said:

“We are delighted the Government has had the sense to scrap key stage 3 tests in their current form and move towards greater use of teacher assessment.  ATL has led the debate on testing, and has long called for a system that recognises teachers’ expertise.  The challenge now will be to get teacher assessments right so they allow teachers to teach a wide curriculum, rather than merely become test administrators.

“We continue to hope the Government will eventually recognise the damaging impact of key stage 2 tests and consign them to the education bin alongside key stage 3 tests.

“We believe it is right to hold teachers and schools accountable for the education they provide, and these proposals should help achieve both high standards and a broader curriculum. 

“The jury is out on how the Government will integrate pupil attainment, progression and well-being indicators into a single grade to replace the key stage 3 tests, and whether it will work.  ATL will work with the Government, through the social partnership, to make sure the new measures benefit pupils and teachers and do not lead to excessive workloads.

“We want to see the Government learn from the mistakes of SATs to ensure data is both accurate and useful for parents and schools.

“It will be a much better use of public money for the Government to spend it helping pupils who are struggling at key stage 3 rather than testing them.”