JUST half of primary school students in Somerset met a new standard set by the government in controversial new league tables for SATs results.

According to the latest figures released by the government on December 15, 665 mainstream primaries in England fell below the Government's floor standard this year, according to the Department for Education (DfE).

Schools are now considered to be meeting the government's floor target if at least 65 per cent of pupils are to reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, or if they are making sufficient progress in these three key areas.

The new expectation and the results have come under criticism, including from a union leader who said the results are “not worth the paper it is written on”.

The changed curriculum has been fraught with controversy with teachers and school leaders raising a number of concerns, including a lack of information for teachers, the difficulty of the papers, leaks and the unreliability of results.

Overall, five per cent of primaries fell below the Government threshold this year. This includes four schools in Somerset.

A spokesperson for Somerset County Council said: “We are very proud of all staff and pupils for their achievements this year.

“Somerset achieved in line with the national average. In a year in which almost all benchmarks and expectations have been changed, this is a real credit to our schools and the teaching staff.”

School standards minister Nick Gibb said: “This year's SATs are the first that test the new primary school curriculum in English and maths that we introduced in 2014.

“This new curriculum raises expectations and ensures pupils become more accomplished readers and are fluent in the basics of arithmetic, including times tables, long division and fractions.

“Many schools have responded well to this more rigorous curriculum, supporting their pupils to be leaving primary school better-prepared for the demands of secondary school.”

According to the figures, the percentage of pupils in Somerset meeting the benchmark is 52 per cent compared to 53 per cent nationally.

Year 6 pupils sit SATs tests in reading, writing and maths.

Previously, pupils were awarded "levels", with Level 4 the standard expected at the end of primary school.

These "levels" have been scrapped and students are expected to reach a new standard based on scaled scores in each subject. The new expected standard has been set at a higher benchmark than the old Level 4.

The percentage of pupils meeting expected standards at the end of primary school in 2016:

n Reading for all of England is 66 per cent, while in Somerset it is 67 per cent of pupils.

n Writing for all of England is 74 per cent, and the same in Somerset.

n Maths for all of England is 70 per cent, and just 68 per cent in Somerset.

n Grammar, punctuation and spelling for England is at 73 per cent, while Somerset is at 71 per cent.

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), said: "This data is not worth the paper it is written on.

"The Government itself has said that it cannot be used to trigger interventions in schools, nor can it be compared to previous years.

"This year, we saw the SATs system descend into chaos and confusion. Delayed and obscure guidance, papers leaked online, mistakes in test papers and inconsistent moderation made this year unmanageable for school leaders, teachers, parents and pupils.

"The data gathered in primary assessment during 2016 is misleading. We warned the Government that publishing this data in league tables could lead the public and parents to make poor judgments about a school's performance, but it has still chosen to do so."

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in Somerset was well below that of other students. (TABLE ATTACHED AS PICTURE)

Julie McCulloch, primary specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "The goalposts have shifted this year and these results have to be viewed in that context.

"The tests are based on a new, much harder curriculum, which the children had followed for only two years, and the expected standard has been significantly raised. In addition, the Government's introduction of these tests has been chaotic.

"Against this background, schools, teachers and pupils have performed miracles and deserve great credit."

In May, the answers to the Key Stage Two grammar, punctuation and spelling test appeared on a password-protected area of an exam board website for several hours before being removed.

A ''rogue marker'' was blamed by the Government for the attempted leak.

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said: "It's been a year of Tory failure in primary school exams.

"Papers have been leaked online, assessments have been scrapped at the last minute, and just before the summer only half of all children met the expected standards in the SATs tests.

"Parents deserve to know exactly how schools are performing so they can make the best decision for their children. Tory tinkering has left chaos in the exam system."

Nansi Ellis, assistant general secretary for policy at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said: "Schools must not be judged on this year's SATs results which were totally unreliable and were the culmination of a chaotic mess of badly implemented and badly designed tests.

"The Department for Education needs to face up to the truth that these SATs tests are not the right way to evaluate how well schools perform and work with education experts to devise a better system."