Best Practice

Baseline pilots loom as DfE sticks to its guns

SATs Performance tables Government policy Baseline assessment
Can any test taken by four-year-olds provide an accurate baseline to a completely different test seven years later? Since 2013 – despite embarrassing set backs – the DfE has doggedly pushed for Baseline Assessment. With the latest trials complete, a new framework is out and pilots are on the horizon

The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) has now released the framework for the Reception Baseline Assessment. It comes with supporting documents and a video and schools are being asked if they would like to volunteer for pilots that will run from September to June next year. This is ahead of full implementation in autumn 2020.

However, the opposition surrounding the tests remains strong. Most recently, the parent campaign group More than a Score marched on Downing Street to hand in a 68,000-name petition opposing the tests.

And in his speech to the National Education Union (NEU) annual conference last month, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would scrap baseline (as well as SATs).

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