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THE big news on the education front is the announcement that Year 9 SATs are to be abandoned immediately. This has led to much rejoicing in schools throughout the country, for both pupils and teachers.

The major reason for the decision seems to have been the complete shambles made last year in the marking and general administration of the SATs papers. Thousands of students had their results delayed until well after the summer holidays.

When papers were returned to school, countless errors were found in the actual marking, and on appeal many schools had the results amended or overturned.

The markers themselves spoke of receiving very inadequate training and support. The company running the SATs has now been sacked, and rather than find a replacement, the Government decided that the exams, rather like the Home Office, were "not fit for purpose".

Actually, the exams themselves have proved controversial for some considerable time.


Certainly in English, there have long been concerns that the exam questions themselves were too rigid and obscure, giving wild swings in results from year to year. My own school has seen Key Stage 3 English results go up or down by around 20 per cent from one year to the next.

There was also considerable debate about whether the SATs tested a wide application of skills and understanding, rather than just factual information. It became apparent that many schools were promoting teaching for the test rather than a wider and deeper understanding of issues and concepts.

However, I want to mention just two notes of caution amongst the general euphoria. Firstly, remember that testing remains popular and important with parents who want clear information on progress being made in school. The Key Stage 2 tests are being retained so that parents can make a judgement about how well their primary school is doing.

Also, on the grounds that the fastest thing through a vacuum is a bandwagon, we need to be careful to see what replaces SATs. There is the option to continue to take the SATs papers but mark them in your own school. Will this be a step forward or back? I leave you to judge.