"High stakes" testing of pupils has led to a system "focused on literacy and numeracy at the expense of the broader curriculum", it suggests.
The Cambridge-based Primary Review's report claims this has contributed to a "state theory of learning".
The government has defended its policies and denies that children are over-tested at school.
Teachers' representatives say the government must address these issues and the way it evaluates schools.
The findings, from four primary review research reports, form part of an in-depth assessment of the current state of primary school education in England.
One, compiled by Dominic Wyse from the University of Cambridge and Elaine McCreery and Harry Torrance at Manchester Metropolitan University, looks at the effects of an increasing government control of the curriculum between 1988 and 2007.
It said: "The evidence on the impact of the various initiatives on standards of pupil attainment is at best equivocal and at worst negative.
