Early years assessment plans ‘fundamentally flawed’, study finds

Government plans to introduce a baseline test for reception age children to measure their progress throughout primary school are “flawed, unjustified and wholly unfit for purpose”, a study by a group of leading education experts has concluded. Their study concludes the plans will produce inaccurate and unfair comparisons across children’s primary school life, because a few months’ difference in age can produce pronounced developmental differences in pre-school children. The current plans also do not take into account wider factors, including family income and educational history, as well as whether the family uses English as an additional language. The panel is also concerned that the tests do not help identify specific needs or develop the best teaching strategies to help children. Under the proposals, testing will be piloted during the 2019 academic year and then rolled out in autumn 2020. Read more.