Call to replace Sats with new tests

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The move would provide a "far more accurate" picture of how well pupils and schools are performing than the existing essay-based testing system, it says.

Sats tests in the core subjects of English, maths and science are taken by 11-year-olds in their final year at primary school.

Similar tests for 14-year-olds were scrapped by schools secretary Ed Balls in October, following last summer's Sats fiasco.

The report, by centre-right think-tank the Centre for Policy Studies, argues that there is an underlying problem with open-ended essay questions and it is not realistic to expect examiners to accurately mark essays written by 600,000 11-year-olds.

It says that "repeated failures" in exam marking in previous years has "undermined the validity and reputation" of the external exams.

Last summer more than a million schoolchildren were left waiting for marks after a series of blunders, including a failure to train markers in time.

It later emerged that the former head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), Ken Boston, had warned Mr Balls that there is "no guarantee" that pupils will not see a repeat of the delays again this year.

Introducing multiple choice questions would be cheaper and quicker to mark and would be an accurate test of knowledge and ability, the report says.

It would also allow more accurate year-on-year comparisons on school performance, it argues.