The confusion that underlies the government’s attitude to testing is illustrated by the interview with Ed Balls in this week’s New Statesman. Martin Bright and Suzanne Moore press Balls on whether children are being stressed out by being tested too much, to which Balls replies: “No seven-year-old should ever know they are doing SATs.”
Balls goes on to explain this slightly bizarre answer by saying:
“The best headteachers will ensure that no six- or seven-year-old knows they are doing SATs. I promise you that is the case. If you are telling pupils in Year 2 that they are doing SATs next week then that’s the wrong thing to do. You should not be stressing the children…
…They don’t need to do the SATs in a sit-down environment … It’s something that can be done as part of the school day. Honestly. And there are loads of schools doing that.”
And those that aren’t?
“I feel as angry as you about that.
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