Only 3 per cent of Reception teachers think the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) provides accurate information, a new poll suggests.
In the survey, conducted by Teacher Tapp for campaign group More Than a Score, more than three-quarters (76 per cent) of Reception teachers said the RBA was unhelpful during the pupil settling-in period.
Teacher Tapp asked 1,161 primary Early Years Foundation Stage/Reception teachers, senior leadership team members and heads to choose how they would describe the RBA, which is now a compulsory assessment for children starting primary school.
Just 1 per cent of heads and teachers said the tests are a good experience for children, and fewer than 2 per cent believe it is important for parents and families.
The RBA is designed to measure pupils’ English and maths skills, having been introduced to replace key stage 1 Sats, which teachers no longer have to use to monitor academic progress.
The RBA has previously been criticised for stretching schools’ budgets, after the Department for Education announced that schools will need two devices to carry it out from 2024.
Only 6 per cent of respondents to the Teacher Tapp survey believe that the RBA is appropriate for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
RBA ‘an inexcusable use of pupil time’
Commenting on the poll, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said the research makes it “clear” that the RBA is an ”inexcusable” use of children’s and teachers’ time.
“Teachers are being pulled away from their classrooms, where they can support children to feel safe and secure, in order to administer baseline,” he said.
“There are no benefits of this test for children, families and teachers.
“Any responsible government would give serious consideration to whether an initiative so deeply criticised by professionals should still be pursued.”
The findings call into question how the DfE is using pupil time, according to Alison Ali, of More Than A Score, particularly during the “pivotal” settling-in period for young children.
“This is when teachers rightly spend their time getting to know children and instilling a love of learning,” she said.
“To have that time disrupted with formal testing solely for the purpose of data collection is difficult to justify.”
She added that two years on from the introduction of the assessment, the poll showed that support from teachers and heads remained “very low”.
But Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders, said that there are both “pros” and “cons” to the RBA.
“It was introduced as a way of recognising the progress primary schools enable children to make from when they start to when they finish school,” she said.
Ms McCulloch said that this should make it a “fairer way to assess the effectiveness of schools”.
But she added: “It’s important that this assessment is done in a way which feels proportionate and appropriate for very young children, and that teachers and parents see the value in it.”
The DfE has been approached for comment.
