§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to his statement of 11 May,Official Report, column 651, what investigations were carried out into the abortive costs involved in the changes to the system of testing announced in his statement; what is the total cost; and what are the projected costs of external marking by external examiners of the tests of 11 and 14-year-olds.
§ Mr. ForthThe cost of developing and distributing the non-mandatory tests for seven-year-olds in technology, history and geography is estimated at £1.7 million. The cost to date of development of history and geography tests for 14-year-olds is estimated at some £300,000. This expenditure has not been wasted. There will be a continuing obligation on schools to teach technology, history and geography at key stage I and to teach history and geography at key stage 3. It will continue to be good practice for teachers to assess pupils' progress against the national targets in these subjects.
The non-mandatory tests in technology, history and geography which have already been delivered to primary schools are explicitly designed to support and inform teachers' own assessments. The work to date on history and geography tests for 14-year-olds will inform guidance to teachers on making their own assessments of pupils' progress and may contribute to the work of devising new tests in future. Lessons learnt from experience gained will be taken into account in Sir Ron Dearing's review of the curriculum and assessment framework.
My right hon. Friend has asked Sir Ron Dearing to advise on the merits of external marking of tests for 11 and 14-year-olds, including the costs.