Assessment

The latest news and analysis on exams in the UK, including key dates, timetables, results and statistics for Sats, GCSEs and A levels

Thursday

2nd Oct 2025

Do schools need a Year 8 reading test?
The DfE plans to introduce a new reading assessment for Year 8, but how useful would this be for schools? Reading researcher Jessie Ricketts gives her view
Year 8 reading test

Wednesday

1st Oct 2025

Sats week: key test dates for 2026
All the Sats dates you need to know for the national curriculum tests for Year 6 pupils plus optional KS1 assessment
Pins in calendar

Tuesday

30th Sep 2025

Ofqual: Severity of cyberattacks on schools has worsened
Regulator releases data showing that while schools show improvements in cybersecurity training, the impact of attacks is now greater and schools are struggling to recover quickly
Data breach

Sunday

28th Sep 2025

Phillipson pushes back at criticism over Year 8 reading tests
Education secretary stops short of confirming plans for mandatory reading test in Year 8, but defends the testing of students’ literacy skills
A girl reading a book

Friday

26th Sep 2025

The leap from GCSE to A-level Mandarin is far too hard
A lack of provision for students wanting to study Mandarin is one thing, but the current A-level exam specifications are putting many off, too, warns this school language lead
Climbing great wall of China
RBA technical problems prompt concerns over progress data
Teacher Tapp survey of KS1 and EYFS teachers finds 67 per cent faced technical issues when administering the Reception baseline assessment
EYFS Building Blocks
Exclusive

Thursday

25th Sep 2025

How the system forgot about white working-class girls
While the underachievement of white working-class boys has attracted political attention, the struggles of disadvantaged white girls continue to be overlooked. School leaders tell ÌÇÐÄVlog why this needs to change
Girls in classroom

Saturday

20th Sep 2025

England’s lost mathematicians should concern us all
New research shows how many disadvantaged students have their enjoyment of maths quashed in secondary school, and it’s a problem that everyone should find alarming
Many young people are losing enjoyment in maths, despite strong skills

Tuesday

16th Sep 2025

Teachers across the world see student attention decreasing
Teachers and students also believe self-management skills are vital for the future, but are hard to teach and to learn, Cambridge International survey reveals
Goldfish balloons

Monday

15th Sep 2025

AI’s ‘soulless’ writing can’t match pupils’ authenticity
English teacher Jack Dempsey says nothing beats marking work that shows a student riding the brainwave of an idea
Once upon a time

Friday

12th Sep 2025

International Baccalaureate: what it is and how to teach it
The number of International Baccalaureate schools is growing across the world – here’s a quick guide to the key aspects of the IB’s operations
The International Baccalaureate curricula promotes global citizenship

Thursday

11th Sep 2025

KS2 Sats: disadvantage gap widens
DfE data also shows that girls still perform best overall – but boys are improving in maths more quickly
Boy jumping over a gap