John Linfoot is misled by the necessarily short letter from me to which he responds (“Tests must get real”, Letters, May 7).

I was not defending specific literacy and numeracy tests: I was pointing out that the jump from Skills for Life to Functional Skills in one go is a case of too far, too fast.

The impact on learners, teachers and providers will be all too apparent over the next 12 months.

I believe in “horses for courses” - all this does is treat all learners as if they were the same, and clearly there is a need to help people who completed their initial education without strong enough literacy or numeracy skills.

Carol Taylor, Director of operations, National Institute of Adult Continuing Education.