Justine Greening, The Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, released a statement on 19th October 2016 related to decisions made about testing.
The key points include:
- There will be no new national tests or assessment introduced before the 2018/19 academic year.
- Key stage 1 grammar and punctuation tests will remain non- statutory with tests available for teachers to use if they choose.
- Statutory resits in mathematics and reading will not be introduced at year 7, but targeted support for pupils needing to catch up will be a focus with resit papers available should teachers wish to use them.
- Further guidance for moderation of teacher assessment will be developed aog with mandatory training for LA moderators.
- A consultation related to assessment arrangements will be launched in 2017.