Well the news is interesting – take a look.
Teachers raise concerns over marking: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-40567217
Primary tests: two fifths fail:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-40481689
So what do these joyful articles tell us? Are things really that bad? Well, first of all ask yourself if your own handwriting is perfect and your own semi-colons perfectly placed. When I started teaching I needed o relearn handwriting that suited expectations. I’d got by perfectly well for 40 years – I’d picked up a degree on the way – but my handwriting needed to model the expectations National Curriculum testing had of the pupils. Can I seriously worry if a 10 year old’s orientation of semi-colons is a bit out of whack? Considering I didn’t know what a semi colon was until my mid teens I really find it hard to do anything other than marvel that small people use them regularly and effectively. The fact that mark schemes take the view that a misplaced semi-colon (and by misplaced I mean too high, or too low on the line, not placed between the wrong words) is no more effective than no semi-colon at all says a lot about the validity of the results.
Which brings me on to the second link. 60% at expected levels is better than last year’s 53%. It’s not good but it’s better. Does this mean that this year’s cohort is 7% better than last year’s, or that teaching has improved? Seems unlikely to me. Teachers have been working hard and teaching effectively for years. There are always differences between cohorts (the reliance on statistics doesn’t allow for this) but 7% is a lot.
The figures are low for 2 reasons, as far as I can see:
- The new curriculum jumped ahead A LOT so most children found themselves trying to squeeze two years learning into 1 year. That doesn’t happen for most children. As time passes those children who were in lower years will have had longer to fill the gaps.
- The tests are hard and they are full of concepts like subjunctives that are really not necessary for youngsters.
The new assessment without levels was meant to make life easier. Parents were meant to be able to understand the descriptors more readily than levels and teachers were meant to be able to use them to build on the child’s current understanding to decide on their next steps. My children are long past that stage so I can’t speak about the parental experience of the change but nothing I have seen or heard convinces me that parents are now more in tune with their child’s progress, thanks to the new system. Committed parents do exactly what they always did – they ask for explanations. Never be afraid to ask your child’s teacher or tutor, it’s our job to ensure you are clear about what your child can do and what they need to be learning next. So, as you receive year end reports do just that. Ask. We’ll be glad to decode the gobbledegook.