A test by any other name would be ***** as sweet !
I told myself that I was not going to get on the yearly band-wagon of dissing the SATs ... but it is hard ... there is no doubt about the fact that they are not good for children, parents or schools ... they may be good for the Government but I am not even sure of that as each year they spend an inordinate amount of their time and effort justifying them !
Today the BBC is on it usual rant about them quoting the Government Committee:
The national testing system in English schools is being misused to the detriment of children's education, says a report from a committee of MPs. The Commons schools, children and families committee says teachers spend too much time "teaching to the test". "The inappropriate use of national testing could lead to damaging consequences," warns the report. Schools Minister Jim Knight welcomed MPs' recognition that the "principle of national testing is sound".
I love the way that Jim Knight missed the plot by a political mile. On BBC news this lunch time he bumbled his way through some very straightforward questioning that would not have convinced anyone.
It is heartening to note that some schools who have for years put their children through their 'paces' by using the non-compulsory SATs for Y3, Y4 and Y5 have this year declined to do so ... hooray for common sense and teacher professionalism.
Panorama last evening also did its best to add fuel to the fire by, I think, taking the side of the children ... the best bit of it was the progressive use of ICT to demonstrate emotion by using animation in cartoons ... excellent. I would download the video and embed it here but my technology in cahoots with the BBC will not allow me to do this ... Why not ?
The answer to all of this is to simply stop doing it. Other countries don't. All of the justification is based on a political concept of 'what parents want'. Just think what the money could have been spent on to support and advance teaching and learning ... I would love to know how much it all costs ...
PS I was in a school yesterday and had a good look at the KS2 Science SATs ... I thought that they were really quite clever in the way they were put together and the questions they asked. Talking to the teachers quickly showed me that the science understanding was masked by the pupils' ability to read and then understand the question ... there were times that it wasn't science that was being tested.
PS.
25th May 2008 ... a report just in concerning '8th Grades in New York refuse to take the test'
posted by Doug @ 12:49
2 Comments
2 Comments:
I loved the animations of the SATs monsters (going to try and emulate them with my pupils). The programme got me thinking. I know loads of Heads who are dead against SATs. What we need are a few brave Heads to stick their necks out and refuse to administer the tests next year. If only handful of schools took this much needed radical action - it would spread a powerful word.
I would love the children take it into their own hands and just sit there and not do the tests.
Wouldn't it be an interesting extension of 'user voice' if they asked what was in it for them and actually just refused to play the game?
Not too sure what teachers would think about this and what schools would/could do if it happened.
Would also be interesting if all the parents who are worried about their children's stress levels would simply vote with their feet for the test days.
Just can't understand why everyone goes on perpetuating a system which is so deeply flawed.
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