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Wales : Assessment arrangements

• 6.2 Second phase: Compulsory primary education (ages 4/5 - 11) [see 3.2.2]
• 6.2.1 Control
• 6.2.2 Purpose(s)
• 6.2.3 Participation
• 6.2.4 Nature
• 6.2.5 Administration
• 6.2.6 Grading process
• 6.2.7 Consequences
• 6.2.8 Use of results
• 6.2.9 Output statistics

6.2 Second phase: Compulsory primary education (ages 4/5 - 11) [see 3.2.2]

Summary table: statutory assessment arrangements for primary education in Wales

Proposed reform of assessment during this phase

The report of the review of the assessment and testing arrangements for 11- and 14-year-olds in Wales, produced by the 'Reference and Review Group', proposed changes which include:

• The introduction of skills tests focussing on literacy/communication, numeracy and problem-solving to be taken at or near the end of Year 5 of primary education (children aged around 10).  These tests, which would be externally marked and would draw on skills across the National Curriculum, rather than exclusively on the core subjects (English, Welsh, mathematics and science), would provide a pupil profile of skills.  Results would be reported to parents and would aim to inform teachers and teaching programmes for Year 6 (the final year of primary education) and would be used in transition planning with Year 7 teachers (in the first year of secondary school).
• The retention of statutory teacher assessment in the core subjects (English, Welsh in Welsh-speaking schools and classes, mathematics and science) at the end of Key Stage 2 (children aged 11, completing Year 6, the end of primary education).  Moderation of these assessments would be introduced.
• The phasing out of the current National Curriculum tests at the end of Key Stage 3 (Year 9 of compulsory education, students aged around 14).  Statutory assessment towards the end of this phase would be by teacher assessment of all subjects at the end of the key stage.  Consideration is also to be given to moving the timing of this assessment to the spring term of Year 9.

Proposed new 'Foundation Phase'

Following a consultation in 2003, the National Assembly for Wales (NAfW) is planning to introduce a 'foundation phase' of education for 3- to 7-year-olds. As a result, the formal learning which children aged 5 to 7 (in Key Stage 1 of primary education) currently experience looks likely to be replaced by a more informal system of learning based on well-structured play, practical activity and investigation. A pilot project for the foundation phase began in September 2004 and the statutory roll-out of the foundation phase will start from September 2008.  To assist pilot schools and centres, a draft "Framework for Children's Learning" for the foundation phase has been produced. This provides good practice for schools and settings to follow. Guidance on children's learning and assessment is also being produced to support the system of continuous assessment based on observation recommended during this phase.

6.2.1 Control

There is no (national) certificate awarded to children on completion of primary education in Wales. There is, however, a system of national assessment, within the statutory framework of the National Curriculum, which applies to this phase of education.⁴⁵ Details of the systems of national assessment which apply during this phase of education are provided below.

National Curriculum assessment at ages 4/5, 7 and 11

Currently, during this phase of education, there is baseline (school entry) assessment and statutory assessment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 (children aged around 7 and 11 respectively). In addition, the Department for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DELLS) develops optional assessment materials (OAMs) for some subjects for use at any point during Key Stages 1 and 2.⁴⁵

School entry (baseline) assessment

Baseline assessment became compulsory in Wales in September 1999. Schools select an accredited baseline assessment scheme from a list of schemes published by DELLS. All accredited schemes must incorporate DELLS's baseline assessment scales, which cover assessment of language, mathematical, and personal and social skills, to ensure a consistent and standard approach to baseline assessment and provide a common form for describing attainment in these skills.⁹³

Children are assessed within seven weeks of first entering primary school at age 4 or 5.⁹³

Statutory assessment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2

Assessment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 covers each attainment target in the core subjects (English, Welsh in Welsh-speaking classes and schools, mathematics and science) and consists of:

• At Key Stage 1: teacher assessment in English (or Welsh in Welsh-speaking schools and classes), mathematics and science. Prior to the 2001/2002 school year, externally set national tests in these subjects were also compulsory for children approaching the end of Key Stage 1.⁵⁵
• At Key Stage 2: teacher assessment in English, Welsh in Welsh-speaking classes and schools, mathematics and science.  Prior to the 2004/05 school year, externally set and marked national tests in these subjects were also compulsory towards the end of Key Stage 2.

Optional assessment materials (OAMs)

The Department for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DELLS) also develops optional assessment materials (OAMs) to support teacher assessment in selected subjects at any point during Key Stages 1 and 2. (OAMs are also available for use in Key Stage 3 - see section 6.3.)  The materials cover the programmes of study of the National Curriculum subjects and are structured to allow teachers to assess children and record the outcomes, which can be used as part of the school's portfolio of work in the individual subjects.⁶⁷

Responsibilities of the former Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales (ACCAC)

Until April 2006, ACCAC was the National Assembly for Wales' principal advisory body on all matters affecting the school curriculum, examinations, assessment and vocational qualifications, and was charged with keeping all developments in these matters under review. ACCAC also advised on appropriate programmes of research and development.¹²²

ACCAC was responsible for:

• ensuring quality and standards in respect of all academic and vocational qualifications (other than those at first degree or any comparable or higher level);
• keeping under review all aspects of the school curriculum and statutory assessment arrangements for maintained schools;
• commissioning Welsh and bilingual (Welsh/English) classroom materials to support the teaching of Welsh as an individual subject, the teaching of other subjects through the medium of Welsh, and 'Wales-specific' aspects of the school curriculum (the Curriculum Cymreig);
• advising on appropriate programmes of research and development; and
• publishing and disseminating information relating to qualifications, curriculum and assessment in Wales.⁴⁵

In April 2006, the functions of ACCAC were merged with those of the Department for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DELLS).

6.2.2 Purpose(s)

School entry (baseline) assessment

The main purpose of compulsory baseline assessment schemes, formally introduced in publicly-maintained schools in the primary sector throughout Wales in September 1999, is that they should enable children to be assessed for the purpose of assisting the planning of their learning and the measurement of their future progress.¹²²

National Curriculum testing at the end of Key Stage 2

The national tests at the end of Key Stage 2 (age 11) were intended to enable children's progress to be measured against national standards in the core subjects of English, Welsh (in Welsh-speaking classes and schools), mathematics and science. The tests were not used to assess the ability or aptitude of children for the purpose of selection for secondary school.⁴⁵  Until the start of the 2004/05 school year, the National Curriculum tests at the end of this key stage were statutory.  Following a review of statutory assessment arrangements, the tests became non-statutory from the 2004/05 school year.

Until the 2001/2002 school year, tests and tasks in English (or Welsh in Welsh-speaking classes and schools), and mathematics were also statutory for children at the end of Key Stage 1 (aged 7 years), in addition. Their purpose was similar to that of the Key Stage 2 tests. ⁵⁸

Optional assessment materials (OAMs)

DELLS also develops optional assessment materials (OAMs) to support teacher assessment in selected subjects at any point during Key Stages 1 and 2. The materials cover the programmes of study of the National Curriculum subjects and are structured to allow teachers to assess children and record the outcomes, which can be used as part of the school's portfolio of work in the individual subjects. OAMs aim to lead to greater consistency in teacher assessment and provide comparable information about children's progress.⁸³

The Key Stage 2 OAMs in English (speaking and listening, reading and writing), for example, are designed to:

• provide schools with standard materials that can give evidence of children's attainment in English to contribute towards, and enhance the consistency of, teacher assessment throughout the key stage;
• provide children's responses that may be included in school portfolios designed to exemplify standards in English;
• provide a straightforward means by which schools can gain comparable information about their students' performance in relation to particular aspects of work in English at any point during the key stage;
• provide examples of a range of valid and reliable methods of assessment in English that teachers might use to guide them in preparing their own assessment materials;
• provide examples of assessment criteria linked to the programmes of study and level descriptions for English;
• contribute, by their use throughout the key stage, to the raising of standards in English, by helping teachers to promote progression and to identify students' strengths and weaknesses;
• contribute to raising the standard of literacy and information technology (IT) capability.⁸³

For Key Stage 1, 5- to 7-year-olds, Optional Assessment Materials (OAMs) in English, Welsh, mathematics and science have been produced for schools.  The materials are designed to:

• be used at any time of the year;
• remain valid for use over several years;
• support consistency in teacher assessment; and
• provide examples of a variety of activities with assessment opportunities that teachers can use as models in designing their own assessment materials and schemes of work.

In addition, exemplification materials are provided to schools. These are examples of what the standards set out in the level descriptions (see sections 6.2.5 and 6.2.6) for certain subjects mean in practice for students.

6.2.3 Participation

School entry (baseline) assessment

Baseline assessment has been compulsory for all children in maintained schools in Wales since September 1999. All children aged 4 or 5, admitted to compulsory primary education, are assessed within seven weeks of first entering primary school. This includes those children eligible to be admitted to the reception class. Only those attending a designated nursery class or unit which is not part of the main school are not eligible to be tested.⁹³

There are two instances when a headteacher may decide to exempt an eligible child from baseline assessment. These are as follows:

• where the child has already been assessed at a previous school, using an accredited baseline assessment scheme, and those results have been received by the child's current school;
• where undertaking a baseline assessment would not, in the headteacher's opinion, add to other earlier assessments of the child made in connection with a statement of special educational needs.⁹³

Private, that is independent schools, are not required to use a baseline assessment scheme, but are encouraged to do so.⁹³

National Curriculum testing at the end of Key Stage 2

Until the start of the 2004/05 school year, the tests for children at the end of Key Stage 2 were compulsory. However, those children working below level 2 of the National Curriculum eight-level scale (see 6.2.6) were not required to sit the tests. Teacher assessment remained a statutory requirement for such children. Private, that is independent schools, were encouraged, but not required, to take part in the assessment arrangements at the end of Key Stage 2.⁴⁵ The national tests at the end of Key Stage 2 became non-statutory in the 2004/05 school year.

Until the 2001/2002 school year, all children at the end of Key Stage 1 (aged 7 years) also had to take statutory tests and tasks in English (or Welsh in Welsh-speaking schools and classes) and mathematics. These tests and tasks are no longer statutory, although teacher assessment in English (or Welsh in Welsh-speaking schools and classes), mathematics and science is.⁵⁵

Optional assessment materials (OAMs)

Assessment using the optional assessment materials (OAMs), developed by DELLS for Key Stages 1 and 2, is not statutory and is decided locally.⁶⁷

6.2.4 Nature

School entry (baseline) assessment

Assessment on entry to full-time compulsory education has been a statutory requirement since September 1999. All children aged 4 or 5, admitted to compulsory primary education, are assessed within seven weeks of first entering primary school. This includes those children eligible to be admitted to the reception class. Schools select an accredited baseline assessment scheme from a list of schemes published by DELLS, which incorporate a common set of scales against which teachers can judge children's basic skills in the following areas:

• language skills - focusing on children's skills in speaking and listening (oracy), reading and writing
• mathematics skills - focusing on children's abilities in number, mathematical language, size, shape and space
• personal and social skills - focusing on children's ability to work, play and cooperate with others.⁹³ , ⁸⁶

Some scheme providers cover a wider range of skills in addition to the areas described above. In order to enable schemes to have greater flexibility, the criteria specify neither the nature nor the number of these other skills.⁹³

Statutory assessment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2

Statutory assessment arrangements for the National Curriculum at primary school level cover each attainment target in the core subjects of English, Welsh (in Welsh-speaking schools and classes), mathematics and science, and consist of teacher assessment in both key stages.  Previously also, in both key stages, national tests taken towards the end of the key stage were statutory.  In Key Stage 1, the tests became non-statutory in the 2001/02 school year and, at the end of Key Stage 2, in the 2004/05 school year. These national tests aimed to complement teachers' own assessment and schools' internal tests and examinations. They were designed to enable each child's progress to be measured against national standards in the core subjects.⁴⁵    See 6.2 for further information on the recent review of statutory assessment during this phase and the implications for testing.

Statutory tests at the end of Key Stage 1 prior to the 2001/2002 school year

Prior to the 2001/2002 school year, at the end of Key Stage 1 (age 7), all children undertook statutory practical classroom-based tasks and written tests in English and mathematics. Children in Welsh-speaking schools took Welsh and were exempt from English. These tests were marked by the class teacher, but set and audited by an external agency. The written tests (reading comprehension, spelling and mathematics) were usually distributed in April of the school year and were implemented anytime during the month of May (the school year ends in July). The classroom-based tasks in reading, writing and mathematics were distributed in December of the school year and were taken at any time during the assessment period which ran from January of the academic year up to four weeks before the end of the summer term.⁴⁵

Statutory teacher assessment at the end of Key Stage 1

DELLS provides optional test materials (for English, Welsh and mathematics) for teachers, to support the statutory teacher assessment of children at the end of Key Stage 1 (see above). ¹⁶⁷

Statutory tests at the end of Key Stage 2 prior to the 2004/05 school year

Until the start of the 2004/05 school year, at the end of Key Stage 2 (age 11), children took written tests in English, Welsh (in Welsh-speaking classes and schools), mathematics and science. Those working below level 2 of the National Curriculum eight-level scale (see 6.2.6) were not required to sit the tests, but teacher assessment remained a statutory requirement for such children. The tests were set and marked by an external agency. Mental arithmetic tests became a compulsory part of the tests in 1999. The end of Key Stage 2 tests were administered according to a specified timetable, and usually took place during an allocated week in May. It was usually required that all children taking the end of Key Stage 2 tests in any one school did so at the same time. Schools chose the appropriate start time for each test within the identified day.⁴⁹ The national tests at the end of Key Stage 2 became non-statutory in the 2004/05 school year.  .

Additional tests

Some primary schools require older children to sit tests at the end of the school year, often using commercially available standardised tests.⁴⁵ In addition, many schools use optional assessment materials (OAMs). See sections 6.2.1, 6.2.2 and 6.2.3 for further information on OAMs.

6.2.5 Administration

School entry (baseline) assessment

The arrangements for baseline assessment tests built on what had been learned from a number of previous local initiatives in baseline assessment.  Schools select an appropriate scheme from a list of accredited schemes published by DELLS.⁹³

It is the responsibility of the headteacher of each maintained school in the primary sector to select a scheme from the list of accredited baseline assessment schemes, and to recommend this scheme to the school governing body to consider for formal adoption. In making this selection, headteachers of local authority (LA)-maintained schools should first consider the scheme nominated by their own LA. Each LA-maintained school registers use of its chosen scheme with the LA (if it has chosen the scheme nominated by the LA) or with the scheme provider and informs the LA (within ten school days of the adoption of the scheme). Independent schools are not required to use a baseline assessment scheme, but are encouraged to do so.⁹³

All baseline assessment scheme providers must provide guidance on:

• giving, receiving and discussing information with parents/guardians/carers, with a view to strengthening partnerships between school and home;
• how teachers can use records of children's pre-school experience to inform the assessment of their attainment and to help plan for their further learning;
• assessing the attainment of mathematical and personal and social skills for children for whom neither English nor Welsh is their preferred language; and  
• how the scheme links to more detailed assessments which identify a child's special educational needs (SEN) and the needs of more able children.⁹³

In addition, the scheme provider must also provide details of:

• data to be collected;
• procedures for the collection of data from schools;
• analyses provided to schools;
• necessary staff training; and
• procedures to ensure the quality and consistency of assessments⁹³.

Each scheme provider must keep a register of schools using its scheme and make this register available to any LA and annually to DELLS.⁹³

Testing at the end of Key Stage 2

DELLS is responsible for the Key Stage 2 tests, taken at around age 11, which were compulsory until the 2004/05 school year, when the tests became non-statutory.  Under the statutory system of testing in place until the 2004/05 school year, test papers were received from the, then, ACCAC and headteachers were required to store these securely. The packs could be opened no more than one hour before the relevant test was due to start and tests had to be carried out under strict test conditions. After each test, the completed papers were returned to the headteacher who retained these under secure conditions until they were sent to an external marker. Headteachers had to complete a Headteacher's Declaration Form confirming that the test packages were received and not opened prior to the specified time, and that the headteacher was content that each of the tests was correctly administered according to statutory requirements. Marked papers were usually returned to schools by the end of June (the tests usually took place in mid May and the school year ends in mid July). ⁴⁵

Statutory teacher assessment (at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2, children aged 7 and 11 respectively, see above) is also subject to external verification. ⁴⁵

6.2.6 Grading process

National Curriculum eight-level scale

The National Curriculum sets standards of achievement in each subject for children aged 5 to 14. For most subjects these standards range from level 1 to 8³⁵. The standards have been designed so that a typical child will move up one level approximately every two years:³⁵

All assessments are criterion-referenced. There are no quotas set for each of the National Curriculum levels. There are no underlying assumptions about the proportion of children who should be at any particular level. Proportions are determined entirely by how children's attainments measure up to the standards of the National Curriculum.³⁵

Attainment targets

Attainment targets define the expected standards of children's performance in terms of level descriptions. They provide the basis for judging children's attainment in particular aspects of a subject at the end of each key stage. Some subjects have several attainment targets which relate to aspects of the programmes of study. For example:

Key Stage 1 Welsh

• Attainment Target 1 - Oral (Speaking, Listening and Viewing)
• Attainment Target 2 - Reading
• Attainment Target 3 - Writing

Design and technology, information technology (IT), history, geography, art, music and physical education (PE) each have a single attainment target.⁴⁵

Level descriptions

Level descriptions are used to make summative judgements about a child's performance at the end of a key stage. Level descriptions allow judgements to be made against attainment targets, and indicate the types and range of performance that a child working at a particular level characteristically should demonstrate over a period of time. By the end of Key Stage 1 (age 7+), the performance of the great majority of children should be within the range of levels 1 to 3, and by the end of Key Stage 2 (age 11+) it should be within the range 2 to 5. See table above. ⁴⁵

Statutory assessment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2

Teachers are required to summarise their teacher assessment at the end of Key Stage 1, for each child, in the form of:

• a level (in terms of the National Curriculum eight-level scale, see above) for each attainment target in English, Welsh (in Welsh-speaking schools and classes), mathematics and science;
• an overall subject level in all these subjects.¹⁴⁹

In Key Stage 2, teachers are required to summarise their teacher assessment at the end of Key Stage 2 for each child, in the form of:

• a level for each attainment target in English, Welsh (in Welsh-speaking schools and classes), mathematics and science;
• an overall subject level in each of these subjects. This must be expressed as a single level for each subject.¹⁵²

6.2.7 Consequences

See 6.2.2 also.

School entry (baseline) assessment

The results of baseline assessment tests are used to provide teachers with an early understanding of each child's abilities, so that teachers can plan more effectively to meet the learning needs of individual children.⁸⁶

End of Key Stage 2 tests

The previously statutory national tests at the end of Key Stage 2 were not used to assess the ability or aptitude of children for the purpose of selection for secondary school.⁴⁵

Use of results to measure value-added and improve school performance

The results of National Curriculum assessment may be used as a resource to help schools raise standards and help their students reach their full potential. Primary schools in Wales are required to set and publish targets each autumn for three-year rolling periods for a range of indicators at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2. For example, schools are required to set and publish targets predicting the proportion of students who will achieve level 4 or above in the end of Key Stage 2 assessment¹⁴⁹.

6.2.8 Use of results

The school governing body of all publicly-funded schools is required to keep educational records for all registered children and to provide copies of records on request. Schools are required to:

• Keep, and update at least once a year, curricular records on children, covering their academic achievements, other skills and abilities and progress in school. Other material, such as details of a child's school attendance or family background, may be recorded, but that is not a mandatory requirement. The curricular record and other material form the educational record.
• Transfer a child's educational record to any school or other educational or training establishment to which the child transfers.⁴⁵

School entry (baseline) assessment

Parents have the right to discuss and to request to see their child's results from baseline assessment tests. Since baseline assessment (on entry to compulsory education) became compulsory for all children in Wales in September 1999, schools generally arrange for parents to discuss their child's assessment results at a parents' meeting subsequent to the assessment. This meeting should, where practicable, take place within the term in which the assessment has taken place. At this meeting, schools usually provide the opportunity to discuss:

• what the school has found out about the child's learning and the next steps the teacher expects the child to take;
• how parents can help their child;
• when the parents next opportunity to discuss their child's progress will be.⁹³

Baseline assessment scheme providers may recommend a variety of strategies to schools in meeting the requirement to provide guidance on how schools pass on to parents the outcomes of assessment. These strategies could include:

• sharing with parents the first stage of a profile of a child's attainment (baseline assessment may be the first stage, or there may be prior stages reflecting attainment in, for instance, a nursery class);
• a written report or record of the outcomes of baseline assessment which is either sent or shown to parents; and/or
• a meeting for all parents on the purposes of baseline assessment.⁹³

As a minimum, however, the guidance for schools must include that, within a term of the child starting at primary school, all parents are offered the opportunity of a discussion with their child's teacher about the outcomes of baseline assessment. For many schools, this discussion is likely to be incorporated into the annual cycle of meetings generally held by teachers with parents.⁹³

Reporting of individual children's results to parents

Schools must send parents at least one written report every school year. During the course of the year, parents must be sent a required minimum of information about:

• the child's progress in subjects and activities studied as part of the school curriculum;
• general progress, including an overview of their academic progress, behaviour, contribution to the life of the school, and any special achievements;
• arrangements to discuss the report with the school;
• the child's progress in all National Curriculum subjects studied;
• attendance record.¹⁴⁹

The formal school records that schools build up on each child are likely to:

• show a child's progress over a period of time;
• record significant achievement in National Curriculum subjects, religious education (RE) and other learning;
• include the outcomes of observation, questioning, marking and testing; and
  inform and feed into the annual report to parents.¹²⁸

In addition, results of National Curriculum assessment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 (see above) must be reported to parents by the end of the summer term (mid-late July).

Publication of results

The results of National Curriculum assessment are published annually by schools in their prospectus and in the annual report of the school governing body. These results do not identify individual children. The National Assembly for Wales (NAfW) also publishes results for each local authority (LA) and for Wales nationally (but not for individual schools).⁴⁵

Use of results to measure value-added and improve school performance

The results of National Curriculum assessment may be used as a resource to help schools raise standards and help their students reach their full potential. Schools in Wales are required to set and publish targets each autumn for three-year rolling periods for a range of indicators at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2.¹⁴⁵

6.2.9 Output statistics

Assessment at age 7

In 1999, the proportion of children who, at the end of Key Stage 1 (aged around 7) achieved level 2 on the eight-level scale (see 6.2.6) for the National Curriculum core subjects (English, or Welsh in a Welsh-speaking school or class, mathematics and science) in combination was: 78 per cent for teacher assessment.⁶⁵ In 2000, 82 per cent of 7-year-olds achieved level 2 in English; in Welsh and in science, 87 per cent achieved this target level; and in mathematics the result was 90 per cent.⁶⁶ In 2001, 83 per cent of 7-year-olds achieved level 2 in English; 86 per cent in Welsh; 88 per cent in science; and in mathematics 89 per cent of children achieved at least level 2.⁵⁷

In the 2002 statutory teacher assessment at the end of Key Stage 1, 83 per cent of children reached level 2 or above in English, 87 per cent in Welsh, and 88 per cent in both mathematics and in science. In 2003, the figures were 82 per cent in English , 87 per cent in Welsh, 87 per cent in mathematics and 88 per cent in science. (National Assembly for Wales Statistical Directorate. Statistical First Release SDR 61/2003.)

The 2005 statutory teacher assessment results at the end of Key Stage 1 showed that 84 per cent of children reached level 2 or above in English, 90 per cent in Welsh, 87 per cent in mathematics, and 89 per cent in science. ²¹⁹  In 2006, 83 per cent of children reached level 2 or above in English, 89 per cent in Welsh, 87 per cent in mathematics, and 89 per cent in science. ²²²

Assessment at age 11

In 1999, the proportion of children who, at the end of Key Stage 2, aged around 11, achieved level 4 on the eight-level scale (see 6.2.6) for the National Curriculum core subjects (English, Welsh in a Welsh-speaking school or class, mathematics and science) in combination was: 61 per cent for teacher assessment results and 58 per cent for tasks and tests.⁶⁵ In 2000, in the tests and tasks, 74 per cent of 11-year-olds achieved level 4 in English; 68 per cent in Welsh; 69 per cent achieved level 4 in mathematics; and 81 per cent achieved this target level in science.⁶⁶ In the 2001 tests and tasks, 78 per cent of 11-year-olds achieved level 4 or above in English; 71 per cent in Welsh; 74 per cent in mathematics; and, in science, 82 per cent of students achieved this level.⁵⁷

In 2002, the task and test results for level 4 or above were 80 per cent in English, 75 per cent in Welsh, 73 per cent in mathematics and 86 per cent in science.  In 2003, the results were 79 per cent, 78 per cent, 75 per cent and 88 per cent respectively. (National Assembly for Wales Statistical Directorate. Statistical First Release SDR 61/2003.)

The 2005 statutory teacher assessment results at the end of Key Stage 2 showed that 78 per cent of students achieved the expected level in English, 76 per cent in Welsh, 79 per cent in mathematics, and 86 per cent in science. ²¹⁹  In the 2006 statutory teacher assessments at this level, 79 per cent of students achieved the expected level in English, 75 per cent in Welsh, 81 per cent in mathematics, and 86 per cent in science. ²²²

Progression to the next phase

Primary education is part of the compulsory phase of education. All children continue to secondary education, regardless of the outcome of the end of Key Stage 2 assessment.

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