Primary statutory assessment – NAHT’s policy positions
NAHT has conducted an extensive review of its policy positions related to primary statutory assessment and related performance data. You can read more about the process of the review and the results of a member survey, which informed our new positions.
Please also see our webpage outlining NAHT’s policy positions on performance measures in England.
As a result of this work, NAHT’s national executive has ratified the following revised policy positions and goals in this area:
- All changes to statutory assessment, testing and accountability must first be evaluated against a broad, academic, evidence base, and follow a minimum consultation period prior to being announced as policy
- No additional statutory assessments should be introduced and those currently used should be reduced
- The purpose of current statutory assessments is to provide school level data for accountability. There is little value or purpose for schools, parents and children. Current statutory assessments:
- do not inform future teaching and learning
- do not support the progress of children
- do not provide useful information for parents about their children’s attainment and progress
- do not support pupils transition to secondary school
- School level data must cease to be published on a performance tables website to reduce the high-stakes and associated negative impacts of any statutory assessments (NAHT’s policy positions on the publication and use of performance data provide further detail on this).
- Time limits on any statutory assessments must be extended or removed completely
- Any decision by government to change current statutory assessments to an online format must be accompanied by sufficient direct funding for schools to address the challenges and barriers they face in implementing this, including IT infrastructure and hardware
- Any online statutory tests should be adaptive in nature
- The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) should be retained but the data from it must not be used as a baseline or to judge school performance
- If a baseline for a progress measure of the cohort is required, it is better to retain the reception baseline assessment than to reintroduce statutory assessments at KS1
- Individual pupil results of the RBA should be made available to schools if it would be useful to teachers and any negative behaviours or perverse incentives can be avoided. The data from the RBA must not be used as a predictive measure or to set individual pupil targets
- The phonics screening check must become optional. It should be available for schools to use at a point (or points) of their choosing with no data shared with any external agencies
- The multiplication tables check must become optional. It should be available for schools to use at a point (or points) of their choosing with no data shared with any external agencies
- The statutory KS2 grammar, punctuation and spelling test must be removed (NAHT will continue to influence and proactively lobby government and other relevant parties to advance these key policy objectives.)
- If writing remains part of statutory assessment at KS2, it must continue to be teacher assessed but the assessment framework must be reviewed and improved. All schools should participate in external moderation which is an essential element in producing teacher assessment that is reliable and comparable over time. However, government must address and resolve NAHT’s concerns over the consistency of assessment and moderation of writing
- NAHT supports the exploration by government of alternative formats for the statutory assessment of maths and reading, including online adaptive tests and teacher assessment supported with external moderation. However, the need to minimise workload and minimise negative impacts on both staff and pupils must be prioritised.
NAHT will continue to influence and proactively lobby the government and other relevant parties to advance these key policy objectives.