Now over 13,000! Sue Palmer, literacy expert, has signed.

Sue Palmer who was a key figure in the development of the Literacy Strategy, has now added her support to this petition. I think this says a lot about the ridiculous nature of the Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar test The debate about testing is not new. It was raised by Professor Harry Torrance in 2002 in his Professorial Lecture at the University of Sussex, which he ends with the following comment: "Can testing really raise educational standards? No, but good quality assessment can, and the sooner the government understands this, the better." 14 years later has anything improved? If you would like to read more of his lecture, here is a link to the PDF: http://www.esri.mmu.ac.uk/respapers/papers-pdf/Professorial%20Lecture.pdf