PRIMARY schools who want pupils to take computer-based maths and English tests must now pay for them out of their already under-pressure budgets.
A contract to provide Computer Based Assessment (CBA) to schools will not continue, education minister Peter Weir has said.
Around one in every three schools use NINA and NILA assessments, funded by the Department of Education, which have been provided on a voluntary basis for the last four years.
Children take them using computers in schools, their responses are marked electronically and calculations made to produce scores and reports.
They are optional, however, due to previous issues. In 2013, schools were told they no longer had to use them after they were hampered by technical glitches.
More than 200 schools reported difficulties at that time and principals criticised them as "pointless".
Schools now choose to opt in, with children in years 4-7 taking the tests throughout the autumn term. Just 267 of 809 primary schools used them in 2016.
Last year, about 17,000 out of 24,000 pupils who sat the NINA tests received lower scores than they actually achieved due to an error.
Mr Weir said he recognised the value that CBA provided.
"The decision to end the contract was not taken lightly. It was based on the imminent contract end date, the number of schools actually using the assessment tool, the considerable financial constraints facing the education sector and the current political uncertainty," he said.
"For these reasons, I could not justify extending the contract beyond the 2016/17 academic year, nor the substantial investment that would be required for a centrally developed CBA in the future.
"If schools wish to continue to use a Computer Based Assessment tool for the 2017/18 academic year, they will have to make their own arrangements."
It is expected that few schools will purchase CBA. Many are already struggling to tighten their belts because millions of pounds have been taken out of the system.
The Irish News revealed last year that every school in the north had its spending plans rejected by government, throwing budgets into disarray.
Education chiefs were forced to take the unprecedented move due to a "serious deterioration" in schools' finances.
Mr Weir added that while there was no legislative requirement on schools to assess pupils for diagnostic purposes, "I expect schools to continue to carry out assessments".
"The majority of schools already to do so, using an assessment of their own choice and results are then used to inform how pupils can reach their learning goals," he said.
