The Government is to consider scrapping the national tests children in England take at 11 and 14, possibly replacing them with shorter but more frequent tests.

Ministers are proposing that pupils should sit shorter tests when teachers feel individual pupils are ready, reports the BBC. The idea will be piloted for two years in a number of areas from September.

Alan Johnson, the Education Secretary, is today publishing a series of education reforms which are also expected to include intensive one-to-one lessons for pupils who struggle in English and maths. The proposals could also involve radical changes to the way schools are ranked in league tables.

The Government’s latest education reforms will be published just days before the release of new GCSE figures, which are set to show that most pupils have not mastered the three Rs by the time they reach 16.

The focus of Mr Johnson’s announcement is expected to be on ensuring that all pupils make progress at school, with a new drive on literacy and numeracy. On Thursday, league table figures are expected to show that dozens of previously highly regarded schools have been failing to teach many of their pupils the two skills at a basic level.

The Government’s GCSE league tables were reformed so that this year all schools will be judged on how many of their pupils get five C grades in subjects which must include English and maths.

In previous years, schools have been measured on how many teenagers get Cs in any five subjects. Experts feared this enabled many schools to "play the system" by entering pupils for easier exams.

Provisional figures showed that only 46 per cent of pupils in England scored five Cs in GCSE subjects including English and maths last year. At present, pre-GCSE national tests consist of children across the country being assessed at the end of each national curriculum "key stage": by their teachers when they are seven, and through tests in English, maths and science when they are 11 and 14 – known as Sats.

Officials envisage the pilot involving two test opportunities each year, in December and in May or June. Teachers would enter any pupils they felt were ready to move up to the next national curriculum level.

Mr Johnson has previously said he wanted a debate about possible alternatives to national tests, about which he had a "genuinely open mind". He said that current league tables and targets were too "narrow", suggesting that a new measure may be introduced to focus on children’s progress rather than just their final result.

The Government’s announcements follow a major report last week on the future of teaching in English state schools. Christine Gilbert, Ofsted’s chief inspector, said education must be "personalised" for the needs of individual children if standards are to rise.

John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the idea of focusing on children’s progress rather than just results. "It makes more sense," he said. "It is a more intelligent form of accountability for the success of schools to be measured according to the progress of all pupils."

David Willetts, the shadow education secretary, said the move to scrap Sats would be good if it raised standards. "Anything that could raise standards, especially in the basics, we would welcome," he told the Today programme.

Mr Willetts said tests were important for raising standards and giving parents and pupils "evidence on how things are going". But he added that there were "worrying examples" of children being taught too narrowly because of the focus on passing exams.

"In more and more schools, there is not enough focus on the basics of science, maths and languages," he said. Asked about proposals to offer more individual tuition for pupils, Mr Willetts said there should be more setting and streaming in schools so that different needs are addressed within the classroom.

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