SATs are Standard Attainment Tests and were introduced by the Education Reform Act of 1988 along with the national curriculum. The idea was that as all students were learning the same core curriculum content they could be tested at the same time with a national test and fair comparisons could be made between schools at 7, 11, 14 and then at GCSE across the country. There have been many criticisms of SATs tests, that they put too much pressure on young children, that children are taught to the test rather than general learning and that there is too much testing altogether. However, their supporters argue that they provide essential information for parents through league tables.