Pass mark for SATs test to be lowered to prevent students failing

Officials announced the changes after pupils performed worse than expected in trials of new-look English and maths tests for 11 and 14-year-olds.

Whitehall said the move would align standards in the new tests more closely with the existing system.

The decision to reduce pass marks had already been taken by the time the trials started late last year, they insisted.

But the Tories accused the Government of "fiddling" the figures.

Ministers have signalled that the new tests could replace existing Sats within two years.

The revamped regime gives pupils two chances a year - in December and June - to move up a level in the National Curriculum system.

Currently, children must wait until they take Sats at the end of a Key Stage to discover which level they are working at.

In trials of the new system in 411 schools in December, "unexpected patterns" emerged in the results.

Officials said these trials awarded pupils a "level four" - the standard expected of 11-year-olds - only if their answers were judged to be "securely within" the grade level.

But for the next tests in June, children will be given a level four if they just scrape over the grade boundary.

This will bring the new tests into line with the existing Sats.

"We have not lowered standards," The Department for Children, Schools and Families said.

"As before, pupils will need to reach level four in order to attain a national curriculum level four.

"We made a technical change to the pilot, which is that for the next round of tests in June pupils will need to have reached or be working within a level, rather than having completed or be working securely within a level.

"This is the same standard as is used in the current national curriculum tests. We are simply running a pilot, part of which is testing out different assessment models.

"We made this change before any pupils sat any tests in the pilot. In order to maintain standards consistent with previous national curriculum tests, we adjusted the test model."

Challenged about the results this week, David Gee, director of the National Assessment Agency, which regulates testing, admitted that some were "lower than expected".

"We identified there were anomalies in the results and we are carryingout a programme of investigations to try and understand the root causes of the unusual distribution of results."

Tory education spokesman Michael Gove said: "Instead of proper rigour and high standards, goalposts are being moved and ministers are trying to cover up their own failures.

"Ministers should concentrate on improving our schools, not fiddling the figures."

Japan has begun drastic education reforms in response to evidence that standards are slipping.

Ministers ordered schools to spend more time on reading, maths and science.

They dumped reforms introduced several years ago to create a more relaxed atmosphere to foster "creativity".

They acted following a report which showed Japan had slipped several places in an international table of achievement.

Britain fell further, from a lower starting point.