Sats replacement system ‘even more stressful for pupils’

Single level tests have produced wildly unpredictable results according to two secret reports on the pilots

Warwick Mansell & Polly Curtis in the Guardian.

“Some extraordinary results emerged in the pilots, with secondary pupils consistently scoring significantly worse than primary pupils who were up to five years younger than them when faced with the same maths test. In writing tests, those up to the age of 11 also fared better than older children.

The problem developed from the fact that the tests related to the curriculum learned in primary school, which secondary school pupils had forgotten by the time they were tested. Because the tests are designed to be taken flexibly when children are ready, rather than at a certain age, it raises profound problems about how to match the tests to the curriculum.”

But hasn’t this always been the case. A level 4 in Year 6 is not the same as a level 4 at Yr 11, otherwise they could all get GCSEs in Primary School.

Isn’t  a level 4 equivalent to a G grade at GCSE?