Some ex-prisoners cannot adjust to home comforts after their release. If they are used to a thin mattress they may have to sleep on the floor rather than a double bed. Something similar seems to be happening in Wales’s primary schools over key stage 2 testing. Last summer teachers rejoiced when the Assembly scrapped the tests. Now we learn that more than half of the country’s schools will set optional external tests next term.
Those who know how popular optional Year 4 tests have been in England will not be surprised. But perhaps it is confirmation that it will take time for teachers and schools to develop confidence in their assessments.
But there is nothing to fear. As the Scots and Northern Irish have also concluded, life should be better for teachers and pupils once testing at 11 is a thing of the past.
