Tory Donor Lord Bamford Funds The Reform...
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Sats For Seven-Year-Olds Set To Be Scrapped
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I am not a parent, but if I were, I would want to know how well my child is doing at school.
But if they are not tested, how am I to know ?
I am not a parent, but if I were, I would want to know how well my child is doing at school.
But if they are not tested, how am I to know ?
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for the sake of veracity here, i did look at the ofsted ratings of local schools before we put our choices down. However, for me (and most people) it is a false comparison because in reality "you get what you get and you don't get upset". The council tells you which school your child s going to go to and that's that
Steady Andy for the second time today you are bang on. i'd give you BA, all this cobras started with saint Tony with his Educationx3 speech but the Tories are just as guilty. You need some testing but it's getting silly with politicians booting this about because it makes it look like they care about education. You don't need sats full stop. Let the schools sort themselves like they have for centuries before politicians started using them as footballs.
vetuste - //I think the case against both has been very well made. Scrap Ofsted forthwith. //
I can't agree with you there - that would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Ofsted's inspections of schools are valuable in terms of assessing schools that need assistance to raise standards (my wife is an Ofsted Inspector) so although the reporting is ludicrously micro-managed, the principle is actually sound.
It's the notion of comparison that is so utterly futile, because it means absolutely nothing, as I have opined in my earlier post.
Blair's Education Secretaries loved the phrase 'parent power' - because again, it appeals to voters.
But what is the 'power'? Telling a load of adults that although they don't actually understand the first thing about modern education, that they have 'power' to alter the education system is a downright lie.
They also referred to parents as 'consumers of education'. What??? If anyone 'consumes' education, it's the children who go to school, but of course, no use asking what they think or want or need, because they don't know either, and anyway, they don't vote so who cares!
I can't agree with you there - that would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Ofsted's inspections of schools are valuable in terms of assessing schools that need assistance to raise standards (my wife is an Ofsted Inspector) so although the reporting is ludicrously micro-managed, the principle is actually sound.
It's the notion of comparison that is so utterly futile, because it means absolutely nothing, as I have opined in my earlier post.
Blair's Education Secretaries loved the phrase 'parent power' - because again, it appeals to voters.
But what is the 'power'? Telling a load of adults that although they don't actually understand the first thing about modern education, that they have 'power' to alter the education system is a downright lie.
They also referred to parents as 'consumers of education'. What??? If anyone 'consumes' education, it's the children who go to school, but of course, no use asking what they think or want or need, because they don't know either, and anyway, they don't vote so who cares!
Having worked in primary schools for many years I would be delighted to see SATs scrapped. I've never been comfortable with the expectation that all children of a certain age should attain the same, or similar, standard at any given time. Some people, including OFSTED inspectors, who should know better, don't seem to realise that no matter how brilliant the teaching, you can't 'make a silk purse out of a sow's ear' so to speak. If you want to know how your child is doing at school, you ask the staff, you read the school report, you listen to what your child is telling you and look at their books when they're doing homework. I think all schools still have parents' evenings or would be happy to see parents if they make an appointment
roopower - Indeed.
My wife worked as a teacher in a good primary, then as a deputy in an inner-city school with masses of social problems, and then as head in a fee-paying prep school.
Of all of them it was the fee-paying parents who expected miracles because they were paying, and my wife had the conversation numerous times, explaining that you can only work with the source material, no matter how much you pay. If little Tarquin isn't up to it, or is too spoiled to behave, then the results will reflect that.
My wife worked as a teacher in a good primary, then as a deputy in an inner-city school with masses of social problems, and then as head in a fee-paying prep school.
Of all of them it was the fee-paying parents who expected miracles because they were paying, and my wife had the conversation numerous times, explaining that you can only work with the source material, no matter how much you pay. If little Tarquin isn't up to it, or is too spoiled to behave, then the results will reflect that.
I agree with much of it but one aspect of the testing was to measure progress. I found the KS2 year 6 SATS to be more of a hindrance than a help. Some if not most primary schools must have been under so much pressure to deliver good results that too much teaching to the test was done and frankly some scores just seemed unbelievable for some students - and then secondary schools were left with the impossible task of showing significant progress fro artificially high KS2 results.
I think many would be happy to see all SATS abolished but then we see posts on here asking why children are not tested in times tables, and secondary schools need to have some info- unless they just test the students themselves on arrival. Some sort of testing is needed to assess performance of schools and progress of students. It's a complicated issue and I wish i knew the answer..
I think many would be happy to see all SATS abolished but then we see posts on here asking why children are not tested in times tables, and secondary schools need to have some info- unless they just test the students themselves on arrival. Some sort of testing is needed to assess performance of schools and progress of students. It's a complicated issue and I wish i knew the answer..
AH, reminds me of the Modern Parents Mr & Mrs Wrightpratt from Viz:
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fiction-factory - I would not object to tests in principle, I doubt may parents would - it's the premise of SATS that is the issue.
You can 'standard attainment tests' for eggs laying hens, you can't have them for children, they are not 'standard' in any way.
Similarly, you can't compare schools given the vast variables in intake, economic area, and so on.
The whole thing is a pointless, not to say expensive' waste of valuable resources, and pressurises teachers with more checks and balances.
I say get rid of the system, it has never been, and never will be, worth anything meaningful.
You can 'standard attainment tests' for eggs laying hens, you can't have them for children, they are not 'standard' in any way.
Similarly, you can't compare schools given the vast variables in intake, economic area, and so on.
The whole thing is a pointless, not to say expensive' waste of valuable resources, and pressurises teachers with more checks and balances.
I say get rid of the system, it has never been, and never will be, worth anything meaningful.
I kind of enjoyed my end-of-primary-school SATs -- but then I'm just weird. Can't remember the ones at age 7 very well (something about using a mirror is about all I remember still) although apparently I didn't do that brilliantly at them -- even the maths one, which seems odd in retrospect.
But the stress of exams at that age? I don't think that children really are stressed when so young because of what they are feeling -- it's a reaction to everyone around them. If the school pushes the exams as important -- and if parents do too -- then children will feel pressure to perform that they might not have had on their own.
Still, it doesn't seem to me that SATs at age 7 are that important and as a measure of how kids are doing they are rather deficient. Sitting exams often says a lot more about how good you are at exams than it does about how good you are at the subject, so they should be used sparingly.
But the stress of exams at that age? I don't think that children really are stressed when so young because of what they are feeling -- it's a reaction to everyone around them. If the school pushes the exams as important -- and if parents do too -- then children will feel pressure to perform that they might not have had on their own.
Still, it doesn't seem to me that SATs at age 7 are that important and as a measure of how kids are doing they are rather deficient. Sitting exams often says a lot more about how good you are at exams than it does about how good you are at the subject, so they should be used sparingly.
I don't agree with formal testing at such a young age..school reports should be enough for parents..BUT I am very surprised about the poor literacy skills of kids..in my day all kids could read and write BEFORE starting school.....education starts at home....I bypassed all the Tom and Anne stuff....was doing crosswords and reading The Scotsman with dad every night
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