Wilshaw would like to see the government reintroduce external testing at the end of key stage 1 and at key stage 3.
He said: “Talk to any good headteacher and they will tell you it was a mistake to abolish those tests. If we are serious about raising standards and catching up with the best in the world, we need to know how pupils are doing at seven, 11, 14 and 16.”
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One suggestion was that pupils should be encouraged to read for pleasure more. The report said some schools were distracted by national tests, which do not always assess pupils’ wider reading skills well.