'Too much pressure' on children to pass Sats

August 05 2010

There is too much pressure on young children to pass exams, it has been suggested.

A spokesperson for the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said the union believes it would be better to scrap Sats tests.

"It's not quite a good thing to put that pressure on children, particularly at such a young age. The thought that they're a failure at that young age isn't good," the female representative stated.

She claimed there should be an alternative system of assessment in place and suggested that training children for tests can stifle creativity in the classroom.

The spokesperson added that by teaching to the test, education professionals do not have the freedom to cover topics that kids enjoy.

Sats results published earlier this week show there was a two per cent drop in the number of pupils reaching their expected level in reading.

However, one in five youngsters are starting secondary school unable to read and write properly.

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