The negative impact of Sats on Year 6 teachers’ wellbeing is “short-lived” and should not be used as a reason to abolish the controversial assessments, according to a new study.
Many have called for the abolition of key stage 2 Sats since they were introduced over 25 years ago, saying they have a narrowing effect on the curriculum, encourage schools to “teach to the test” and harm the wellbeing of pupils and staff.
But in a Nuffield Foundation-funded study published today, researchers from the UCL Institute of Education conclude that, although Sats week does induce a rise in anxiety among Year 6 teachers, their stress levels quickly return to average outside of the week when tests are held.
The research, which involved 1,000 primary school teachers, shows that Year 6 teachers have similar levels of anxiety compared with those teaching Year 3 or Year 5 pupils throughout most of the academic year.
It found a notable increase in the percentage of highly anxious Year 6 teachers during the week when Sats take place, reaching a peak of 35 per cent, compared with an average of 25 per cent during the rest of the academic year.
This compares with an average of 23 per cent of Year 3 or Year 5 teachers being highly anxious through the academic year, and and 24 per cent during Sats week. The researchers said the same trends were observed after controlling for differences in the background characteristics of the teachers in the study.
Sats: Concerns about school leaders’ wellbeing
The authors said that while there may be other reasons to lower the stakes of primary school assessments, the impact on teachers’ wellbeing is likely to be minimal, and therefore “a stronger case is needed to justify abolishing this type of assessment”.
Study lead author Professor John Jerrim said: “High-stakes assessments, or exams with significant consequences for students, teachers and schools, have been criticised for causing negative impacts on wellbeing in the education sector. This has led to arguments for the abolition of the Year 6 Sats in England because of these concerns.
“Our study does provide some quite clear evidence that the Sats have a negative impact on the anxiety levels of teachers, who bear most responsibility for the results. However, the negative impact of these exams on teachers seems to be relatively short-lived.”
But James Bowen, assistant general secretary at school leaders’ union the NAHT, said that what the study appears to overlook is the “very significant impact that Sats results can have on school leader wellbeing”.
“In the current system, it is school leaders that tend to come under significant pressure when the school’s Sats results are not deemed good enough. The publication of performance tables and the sort of naming and shaming we see each year in some sections of the media only serve to exacerbate this,” he said.
“It would be entirely wrong to look to play down the impact this can have on dedicated primary school leaders.”
Tiffnie Harris, primary and data specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said the study clearly shows that Sats have a negative impact on the wellbeing of teachers. “Although the data appears to hint that this is short-lived, the fact that one in four Year 6 teachers are highly anxious during the rest of the academic year does not suggest that all is well,” she said.
“Primary schools are subject to a high-stakes accountability system and even in the aftermath of the pandemic, results were still supplied to Ofsted as part of the inspection process.
“There are strong arguments for reforming Sats that go far beyond the impact they have on staff wellbeing. Current accountability metrics dictate that primary schools are judged on a small range of subjects and skills.
“The decision to continue publishing performance tables in the aftermath of the pandemic only underlines this. There is much more to schools than is shown by the narrow set of data provided by Sats, and a broader system that places more importance on other parts of the curriculum would better reflect this.”
Campaign group More Than a Score said the research clearly demonstrates that the use of Sats data to measure schools is a high-pressure, high-stakes system that causes stress for teachers throughout the school year.
“We should be questioning the components of a regime which inflicts this level of anxiety on a significant percentage of professionals and all other stakeholders, especially children,” a spokesperson said.
“Our own research shows that Sats cause increased stress in children, parents, teachers and heads. Last year, one in 10 Year 6 children told us that they were not sleeping ahead of Sats and a third of heads told us that they had been contacted by parents concerned about their children’s wellbeing, specifically relating to the tests.
“Our children’s education is too important to be at the mercy of a system which puts everyone involved under so much pressure.”
The research is based on data collected via Teacher Tapp at 16 points during the 2021-22 academic year , including the weeks before, during and after Sats took place. Respondents were asked to rank their anxiety at work on a scale of 0 (“not at all anxious”) to 10 (“completely anxious”). Those with scores of 7 and above were considered “highly anxious”. The percentage of Year 6 teachers who reported having high levels of work-related anxiety was compared with teachers of Year 3 or 5 pupils, who do not take any national assessments.
The research is part of a wider study that the Nuffield Foundation has funded into the health of teachers in England over the past 25 years.
