The 250,000-strong union is planning to ballot its members in the autumn on boycotting the tests, as well as holding public meetings, distributing leaflets and approaching other unions to join the boycott. The NUT is also planning a national petition calling on the education secretary, Charles Clarke, to bow to growing pressure and scrap the tests.
Tests at seven are only held in England, while those at 11 are conducted in England and Wales. The SATs at 14 are held throughout the UK.
NUT delegate Lesley Auger said, 'The consequences of a testing regime are ignored at our peril. We are forced to acknowledge them as long as league tables pit school against school, as long as parents are able to shop around for so-called "best schools", and as long as teachers are compelled to accept performance management targets based on the measurable performance of children.'
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