This article, which draws heavily on the Sutherland Inquiry report into the delivery of National Curriculum testing in 2008, outlines important aspects of the failure that year to report test-scores on time, considers the extent to which ministers might have been held more accountable and reviews the state of the long struggle to replace the…

This paper comments that problems with Great Britain's Key Stage 1 standard assessment tasks (SATs) for pupils with special educational needs involve the SATs design and use. Issues discussed include activity-based assessments, adaptations, time demands, step size, future development of SATs, and disapplications of the National Curriculum. (JDD)

As the assessments mandated by the British National Curriculum have come into use, teachers have found the core concern to be how to manage the assessment of each student's progress within the framework of the statutory requirements. This book focuses on the assessment of students of ethnic minority backgrounds and presents a collection of…

Student assessment in science in primary (elementary) schools in the United Kingdom is discussed in the context of the enactment of a National Curriculum. Sample science test items are included. Teachers must develop the skills required to assess students' learning in science and should not rely on external tests. (SLD)

The use of performance based evaluation on a national scale with 7-year-olds in the United Kingdom is described, and the impact of national assessment on teaching practice and implications of this type of assessment are considered. The national assessment program in the United Kingdom started in earnest in 1991 when all 7-year-olds were assessed…