§ Ms. ArmstrongTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how the pilot studies on testing at age seven years are to be evaluated; and when he will inform Parliament of his decision regarding the nature of the test to be used in schools in 1991;
(2) what reports he has received from the organisations using pilot SATs for seven-year-olds; and if he will place them in the Library.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe three agencies which developed the standard assessment tasks used in this summer's pilot assessments will shortly submit evaluation reports to the School Examinations and Assessment Council (SEAC). SEAC will in turn advise my right hon. Friend about the outcome of the pilot assessments. In addition Her Majesty's inspectorate, in collaboration with SEAC and the Department, will host conferences later this month for the teachers who took part in the pilot exercise.
In the light of this work, a revised specification for the standard assessment tasks for use in the first national assessments of seven-year-olds in 1991 will be issued in the autumn.
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§ Ms. ArmstrongTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools took part in each of the pilot studies for SATs at seven years of age; and how many children were involved.
§ Mrs. RumboldJust over 21,000 pupils in 619 schools in England and Wales participated in this summer's pilot assessments of seven-year-olds in English, mathematics and science.