Teachers have submitted 6,000 pupils’ practice test results to a national database, in a bid to find out how they compare with others as they prepare for the new “tougher” Sats. 

The project is being run online by Michael Tidd, deputy head of Edgewood primary in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, who has warned that it is “wholly unreliable for anything other than general interest and comforting reassurance”.

This is the first year that the new “tougher” Sats tests will be taken by Year 6 pupils. The government has said the tests are pitched at the old level 4b - a level which 80 per cent of pupils achieved in reading last year. In maths, 77 per cent did so and 73 per cent achieved this standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling. But there has been concern that the standard expected is closer to the higher level 5.

Mr Tidd has analysed the data to see how many children would pass if the pass-mark was set at 50 per cent.

If this was the case, then 68 per cent of pupils would have passed the reading test, based on 3,745 reading scores. In maths, 52 per cent of pupils would have reached the expected standard, based on 4,110 scores. Fifty-two per cent would have reached the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling - based on a sample of 3,888 pupils.

Around 580,000 children will be taking the tests this summer.

Speaking to TES, Mr Tidd said: “You would expect the scores to go up by May, so if the pass mark was set at 25 marks (out of 50) in reading you would get about 75 per cent passing, which I think for reading looks about right.

“Because we have no idea where the pass mark is, the purpose of the poll is to reassure us whether we are comparable to other people.

“It is almost academic where the threshold is - what matters is where we are compared to everyone else. If you know all the scores have dropped it doesn’t tell you much, but if you have eight marks when everyone else has 20, then it does.”

The data is being constantly updated and Mr Tidd said it would remain open until Easter. Today, with 5,782 reading scores uploaded 65 per cent of pupils would pass, if the pass mark was 25 out of 50.

And with 6,326 maths scores uploaded, 50 per cent of pupils would pass if the pass mark for maths was 55 out of 110.

With 5,463 results for the grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) test uploaded, 49 per cent of pupils would pass, if the pass mark for GPS was 35 out of 70.