UK Edition
Ditch primary school spelling test leaked online, headteachers demand
Primary school tests set to be taken by hundreds of thousands of children in May should be ditched because they have been available to parents and teachers since the start of the year, head teachers have said.
The government has admitted a “serious error” after a primary school spelling test due to be taken by seven-year-olds across the country was accidentally published online.
Although the test has still not been taken by most students, the same paper will still be used and Department for Education has asked teachers not to share its content.
But headteachers are demanding the test should be scrapped because it will be a "waste of time" for teachers and it cannot possibly be used to set a benchmark, its original intention.
Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has written to Nick Gibb, the schools minister, demanding the test is no longer mandatory and that teachers should not enforce it if they don't wish to do so.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Hobby said: "The test is out there at the moment and the does mean that some schools would have been exposed to it. I don't believe you can set standards on these test this year. I think it’s hard to tell how widely spread it has become but most schools have been preparing and practicing for the test.
"The results for these tests don’t go anywhere outside the school and schools aren’t evaluated on them but as we speak a lot of schools are doing them to set the benchmark standard of what the pass mark will be for these tests. There should be around 700 schools using it.
"It may be that teachers have used the material on their own initiative or it may be that parents have downloaded the material.
"You cannot set a standard on this ground when you cannot find out whether children were exposed to the test. Therefore these tests serve no purpose a lot within the education system. The best thing that the Government can do is to say to schools that they don’t have to use them this time around. Doing a test that has no value is the last thing we need.
“I’ve written to [Nick] Gibb to request that schools should be free not to use them.”
The Key Stage 1 Sats examination was uploaded to the Standards and Testing Agency website as a practice paper in January, but the error was only realised when a number of schools piloted the test this week and teachers recognised the questions. An inquiry has now been launched.
Schools have already received the spelling and grammar tests in sealed envelopes ahead of the Sats assessments in the first week of May.
The error has been derided on social media. The poet Michael Rosen said on Twitter that the Department for Education had “screwed up big time”.
One teacher said on Twitter: “Accidental leaking of the KS1 VGPS test online just sums up the chaos and mess of this year's SATs. Amateur from start to finish.”
In the letter to Mr Gibb, the NAHT wrote: "This is a serious error that undermines confidence in the administration of primary tests and also means that we can have little faith in any standard setting exercise that may emerge from the pre-test trials.
"I therefore ask that you free schools from the obligation to use this test. This will have no effect on your ability to hold schools accountable but it will be a sign of respect for the precious time of staff and pupils, and allow them to focus on more productive activities. My members will certainly expect this step."
A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: “This is clearly a serious error and we have launched an immediate investigation to understand how it happened.
“The material has been removed from our website. Fortunately, this is a Key Stage 1 test which is provided to schools to support Teacher Assessment judgments.
“The data used to judge the performance of schools and the progress children are making at Key Stage 1 are teacher assessment judgements. The results of these tests are not collected. Nonetheless it is deeply regrettable that it has happened.
“We ask that if anyone has seen the material, they do not share it further so that the test remains helpful for those teachers who have not yet used it with their pupils.”