Government has fallen woefully short of exam results targets

12.00.00am GMT Tue 14th Aug 2007

The Liberal Democrats have criticised the Government for missing its targets for standards achieved by 14-year olds in English, maths and science.

Commenting on the Key Stage 3 results published today, Liberal Democrat Schools Spokesperson, Stephen Williams MP said:

"The Government has fallen woefully short of its own targets.

"Any progress previously made has now stalled or is even going backwards.

"Ministers must now say when they expect to reach their targets and what measures they will put in place to help teachers and children achieve them.

"Boys are still lagging behind girls, a pattern that is likely to be repeated in the upcoming GCSE results. Ministers should look at how lessons are taught to see whether subjects could be made more appealing to boys.

"Unfortunately, under-achievement often begins at an early stage before pupils start secondary school. Those children falling behind need to be identified at the earliest opportunity to tackle the core of poorly-performing pupils."