US and England opt out of fake news test designed to assess how well children spot fake news

'The only way to get serious, the only way to get started with this issue, is to look at the truth'

Schools in Scotland, Canada and Australia have agreed to take part in the new assessments (Rex)

England has opted out of an international standardised test designed to assess how well children can spot fake news.

The new “global competences test” is to be carried out alongside maths, reading and science, as part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) tests.

They tests are designed to provide comparable data across different countries and have become a significant benchmark by which politicians measure the success of education policies.

Now, the intergovernmental economic organisation wants to measure how well children can deal with “echo chambers” and false information spread on social media.

The test will also assess tolerance and cultural awareness, with questions that address racism and identity issues.

But a number of Western countries including England, the US, Germany and France, have chosen not to take part in the test. They will continue to carry out the other academic subject exams.

Scotland, Canada and Australia have agreed to take part in the new assessments.

Andreas Schleicher, the OECD’s education director, told the Education World Forum in London this week some countries were reluctant to be assessed on these different skills.

A number of nations were hesitant about collecting ”hard data” on students’ beliefs, he said.

“I take a different view. The only way to get serious – the only way to get started with this issue – is to look at the truth,” he said. “That’s the aim of Pisa, to confront us with the real world, not the world of words and beautiful theory,” he added.

The Department for Education in England said the new test was an “additional burden” for schools.

“All schools are already required to teach pupils to have a mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs,” a DfE spokeswoman said.