Since last September I have worked across England with nearly 3,000 Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 practitioners. They are unanimous in their dislike of the tests and cite good reasons - the tests narrow (ie dumb down) the curriculum for five- to seven-year-olds; the targets are set in order to get 'good' test results and put pressure on the Foundation Stage to be too formal; classroom assistants and teachers talk about the growing number of children disaffected by the age of six (particularly boys and children with special needs); and the pressure of preparing for the tests lowers staff morale.
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