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Press Release

Voice welcomes report on National Curriculum tests delivery failure

23 July 2009

Voice: the union for education professionals has welcomed the Children, Schools and Families Committee's Report Policy and delivery: The National Curriculum tests delivery failure in 2008 published today (23 July 2009).

General Secretary Philip Parkin said: "The report reaches sensible, commonsense conclusions and echoes the concerns raised by teachers, support staff and their unions at the time.

"I am particularly pleased that the report highlights what professionals have been saying about 'Government interference' and 'micro-management by the DCSF', and calls for a 'less prescriptive approach' and warns that 'new tests should not be introduced hastily'.

"The fiasco of 2008's marking processes demonstrated how the whole system had become too big, too expensive, too unwieldy and too inaccurate.

"The Government's obsession with testing everything that moves has distorted the curriculum, caused stress and anxiety for students, teachers and parents.

"The current system of 'accountability' is for the benefit of the Government rather than for providing information for parents and taxpayers.

"We would like to see a move away from teaching to tests to a smaller scale, school-based system that makes much greater use of teacher assessment.

"Now that tests at 14 have gone, there seems little point in continuing with those left at 11, and they should be scrapped too."



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Voice: the union for education professionals

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