LONDON (Reuters):

The government may scrap key educational testing for 11 and 14-year-olds in England and replace them with more frequent, but less detailed assessments.

New plans envisage more regular and flexible testing with teachers deciding when they think a pupil is ready to sit a test.

Education Secretary Alan Johnson said the idea would be tried out in 10 local authority areas from September.

"Parents want to know how their child is progressing in the four years of key stage two," he told Sky News.

The pilot schemes, which will run for two years, will cover maths and English.

Bold and brave move

Currently, children are assessed when they are seven, 11 and 14 before sitting exams at 16. Johnson said he wanted pupils who needed specific help to be given individual tuition in a bid to lift educational standards.

That could include bright pupils who were not performing to the best of their abilities.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) said it welcomed the proposals, but called for an end to what it referred to as a "blizzard of school performance targets and league tables."

Steve Sinnott, NUT general secretary, said the plan on personalised learning was a "bold and brave move".

"Teachers' own assessments have been shown to be more thorough and accurate than imposed tests. He (Johnson) should go the extra mile and thoroughly reform testing and assessment," Sinnott said.