'Back-to-basics' grammar tests for 11-year-olds revealed Pupils will be asked to correctly spell commonly misspelt words such as permanent, preferred and desperately. The grammar component will test pupils on their understanding of principles such as where to insert commas in a sentence, how to use colons and semicolons correctly, and when to use personal, relative and possessive pronouns. The tests will form part of the "writing" component of Sats alongside existing teacher assessments of pupils" written composition skills. A Department for Education spokesperson said: "The new, rigorous spelling, punctuation and grammar tests will drive up standards in primary schools. Too little attention has been given to these core skills. It is vital that pupils are confident in key writing techniques. It was also revealed that key GCSE subjects will be revamped to include specific marks allocated for correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. The reforms are part of the Department for Education's efforts to address concerns from universities and employers that too many pupils arrive without basic literacy and numeracy skills despite having passed national curriculum tests. Earlier today mathematics experts from the Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (Acme), which advises the Government on maths education, revealed plans for a new higher maths qualification for sixth-form students who do not wish to study the subject as one of their main A-levels. The qualification, which includes questions requiring problem-solving in real-life settings through applied use of statistics and probabilities, is expected to be embraced by ministers. Details will be set out in a report due to be published later this week. This weekend Michael Gove told the Telegraph that he was close to announcing something "not quite as demanding as an A-level" aimed at students between 16 and 18 who are not studying maths or science A-levels. He said: "The final piece of the jigsaw will come out shortly, for more academic students, to make sure there are courses and qualifications for them to carry on doing mathematics until the age of 18, even if they are doing humanities. We want to be able to support people to integrate into education post-16 a way of maintaining mathematical fluency even if, for example, they are planning to do modern languages at university. The economic crisis through which we are now living is a crisis of maths because people relied on dodgy equations to do the work for them. He added that the Government is spending more money on mathematics than any other subject and has recruited 300 graduates on £11,000 bursaries to be maths specialists in primary schools, or maths teachers in secondary schools.