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Major School Test Shake-Up: Calls to Scrap SPaG Tests and League Tables
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Disadvantage, testing pressure and how schools are judged come under the spotlight as sweeping reforms are proposed for England’s primary assessments.
England’s primary school testing system could face a major shake-up after an influential think tank called for standalone spelling, punctuation and grammar tests to be scrapped, school league tables to be brought to an end and traditional SATs scores to be replaced with a system showing more clearly what children can actually do.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says the current assessment system is not working well enough for disadvantaged children and is calling for four of its proposed reforms to be introduced from the 2027–28 academic year. A fifth, more radical change would be developed as a longer-term reform.
At the centre of the argument is a difficult question for parents, teachers and policymakers: are primary school tests accurately measuring what children understand, or has too much importance been placed on how pupils perform during a narrow period of high-pressure testing?
The figures behind the debate are striking. In 2026, just 4% of disadvantaged pupils achieved the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with 11% of other pupils. The IPPR report also says disadvantaged children are, on average, 10 months behind their peers by the end of primary school.
One of the biggest proposed changes is the abolition of the standalone spelling, punctuation and grammar, or SPaG, test. The IPPR describes it as “not fit for purpose” and argues that these skills should continue to be taught and assessed through children's wider English work rather than through a separate high-stakes test.
The proposal has also received backing from NAHT. Its general secretary, Paul Whiteman, said the current SPaG test had “outlived its usefulness”, pointing out that grammar, punctuation and spelling are already assessed through children's writing.
Another potentially controversial recommendation would stop the publication of school-level Key Stage 2 results, effectively ending the primary school league tables currently used to compare school performance. Instead, rolling averages covering periods such as three or five years could be used by the Department for Education and Ofsted for monitoring and inspection.
The change would represent a significant shift because parents can currently use the government's school comparison service to see information including exam and test results and Ofsted reports. The debate therefore goes beyond testing itself and raises questions about how much information parents should have when comparing schools.
Traditional scaled SATs scores would also be targeted. The IPPR wants them replaced with a competency framework designed to provide a clearer picture of what individual pupils understand and where they may need additional support.
The think tank is also calling for an independent statutory accessibility and bias audit covering all Key Stage 2 assessments. The proposal is intended to create greater scrutiny around whether assessments are accessible and equitable for children from different backgrounds and circumstances.
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Perhaps the biggest long-term change would be a move away from relying on the existing end-of-primary assessment model towards random sampling across Years 3 to 6. Under the IPPR proposal, assessment would take place across different year groups and subjects, forming the basis of a broader reform of primary school assessment.
The recommendations come amid wider dissatisfaction with the current SATs system. Earlier IPPR research found just 7% of primary senior leaders surveyed thought SATs should remain in their current form, while 93% said SATs did not support disadvantaged children well.
For now, however, parents should not mistake the proposals for confirmed changes. SATs, SPaG assessments and published school performance information have not been abolished. These are recommendations being put forward as part of a potentially significant debate over the future of primary education in England.
What the report does put firmly on the table is a bigger question about what primary assessment should achieve. Should schools be judged heavily through test results, or should the system give greater weight to children's progress, individual abilities and the different circumstances in which they learn?
If ministers eventually embrace reforms of this scale, the way England measures primary school success could look very different. The argument now is whether removing standalone SPaG tests, league tables and traditional SATs scores would create a fairer picture of children's abilities, or make it harder for parents and the public to judge how schools are performing.
Source:Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), “What Comes Next: A Fairer Approach to Primary Assessment”, published 21 October 2026.
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