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Sats: Schools Minister to look into 'challenging' test

Key stage 2 papers from 2009
Image caption,

Tests for Keys Stage 2 and 6 have been around since the 1990s

The government minster in charge of schools in England has said he will look into this year's Sats.

It comes after some children, teachers and parents complained that part of the tests for 10-11 years olds were too hard.

The Sats - or Standard Assessment Tests - are taken in Year Six in England to measure the progress children have made before they go to secondary school.

Schools minister Nick Gibb says the tests are meant to be challenging but not "too hard" as that is "not the purpose" of the assessment.

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His comments come after complaints that last week's reading exam was too difficult and a headteachers' union said some staff also struggled "to understand the questions".

When asked about concerns over the difficulty of Sats, Mr Gibb said: "I've not seen the paper yet. I'll look at it next week when it's available."

However he also said that the tests were tested themselves and that the Standards and Testing Agency has to make sure that they are "appropriate for this age group".

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Minister Nick Gibb is in charge of schools in England

"The Standards and Testing Agency have tested this test before in tests before the pandemic, they tested it last year with a large group of children... they found that 85% enjoy taking the test.

"But... I will certainly look at this because I know that there has been concern expressed by some schools.

"But we don't want these tests to be too hard for children. That's not the purpose."

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James Bowen, from the the school head's group, the National Association of Head Teachers, said: "We are pleased that the government will be looking at what happened with the reading test this year.

"We have had clear feedback from school leaders that this year's paper was not pitched appropriately for a large proportion of pupils and even highly proficient readers struggled with it.

"We need to remember that these are 10 and 11-year-olds and the last thing we need are papers that leave them feeling demotivated and dejected."