§ Sir Gerard VaughanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what preparatory steps he is taking to collect reports from teachers administering standard assessment tasks to seven-year-olds as to the practical implications of these tasks in their present form.
§ Mr. EggarA range of methods will be used to obtain teachers' views about the standard assessment tasks—SATs—as part of the evaluation of the first national assessments of seven-year-olds. The School Examinations and Assessment Council—SEAC—will be co-ordinating the information, which will include replies to questionnaires sent to two random samples of teachers. SEAC, together with the Department and Her Majesty's inspectorate—HMI—has also arranged a series of conferences which will be attended by teachers of seven-year-olds. The conferences will give teachers an opportunity to put forward their views about a range of aspects of the assessment arrangements, including the SATs.