Can you pass the Government’s new controversial Key Stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test?
Prominent writer pens open letter to Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, asking whether the people who devised the new test are ‘really interested in writing’
.jpg)
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Government’s new Key Stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test is continuing to spark much debate and controversy, with a prominent author hitting out at next year’s new test.
Writing an open letter to Education Secretary Nicky Morgan in The Guardian, children’s novelist and poet Michael Rosen described it as suffering from ‘a severe case of terminology-itis’, adding how some of the questions are based on ‘stacked-up levels of abstraction’ as well as trick questions.
Designed to give teachers an indication of how the new curriculum will be assessed from 2016, the Government has released sample test papers which, the Standards and Testing Agency says, reflects areas of the curriculum that have ‘changed’, acknowledging how questions may be ‘unfamiliar or more challenging’.
Reflecting on whether the people who devised the test are ‘really interested in writing’ Rosen wrote: “I doubt it.”
He also hit out at the terminology of the test’s name, referring to it as ‘problematic’, arguing how some questions are not about spelling, punctuation or grammar - but rather to do with ‘vocabulary’.
See the complete sample test here, with the accompanying answers here
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments