Authors against the 'Sats'

Writer Alan Gibbons has been co-ordinating a campaign against the 'Sats' tests for children in schools. Here's the latest statement on his blog:

We are poets, authors and illustrators opposed to the SAT tests. Our campaign was founded in 1993. We believe that children’s understanding, empathy, imagination and creativity are developed best by reading whole books, not by doing comprehension exercises on short excerpts and not from ticking boxes or giving one word answers. It is our view that reading for pleasure is being squeezed by the relentless pressure of testing and we are particularly concerned that the SATs and the preparation for them are creating an atmosphere of anxiety around the reading of literature. Resources now being channelled into testing could and should be redirected towards libraries, the training of librarians and book provision.

We support the boycott called by head teachers in the NUT and NAHT unions. There are no SAT tests in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. We deplore Government threats to use legal action against a form of action which will give children more time to learn and will not disrupt their education in any way.

More details, including how to add your name to the signatories, can be found here.