Government to miss education targets
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Your support makes all the difference.The Government will fall short of its targets for raising standards in maths and English, a survey by The Independent has discovered.
Results of the national curriculum tests for 11-year-olds, published next month, are expected to show that neither the target for 80 per cent of pupils obtaining the required standard in English nor that of 75 per cent in maths will be reached.
The targets for 2002 were the first to be set by Labour on taking office five years ago and were accompanied by a pledge from David Blunkett, who was Secretary of State for Education at the time, that he would resign if they were not met. He was promoted to Home Secretary last year.
A poll of more than 40 local education authorities by The Independent reveals that English results will show only marginal improvement on the 75 per cent figure reached this year. Figures indicate that any rise will be less than 1 percentage point, instead of the 5 points needed.
The picture in maths is slightly more encouraging, with a rise of between 2 and 3 percentage points predicted. However, even a rise of 3 percentage points would still leave the figure short of the 75 per cent target. Last year the figure for maths actually fell, from 72 per cent to 71 per cent.
The targets have repeatedly been described by ministers as a crucial factor in determining whether Tony Blair's strategy for raising school standards is succeeding.
The Government's embarrassment and disappointment at failing to meet them will be tempered by the fact that standards are still improving, albeit at a much slower rate than when the compulsory literacy hour and daily maths lesson in primary schools were introduced. A government source said: "It's a bit like losing weight. You lose a stone and then you've got all the hard work. It really is the hard yard that we've got to do now."
Headteachers said yesterday that if the results were confirmed they showed "the very considerable political risks associated with setting national targets".
David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, called for an immediate rethink of new targets announced for 2004, when ministers want to see 85 per cent reaching the required standard in both subjects.
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