Education Sec. Morgan wants 7 year olds to do tests
 

Good move


Thats the China Way


Bring It in .


Sort out the Good Ones to move ahead.

http://news.sky.com/story/1580528/to...are-on-the-way

Terrible idea, there should be less tests, not more.

No we need to find out who is going wrong.


Nothing Terrible about it


On Ch5HD News
kids liked the idea.


Get with the times Dezzy

Paving the way for the return of the grammar school.

If you want to put that way

Don't we already test kids to death? Enough already.

I agree that bright kids should be focused on so that they're not held back by the lowest common denominator - - - HOWEVER - - - I personally believe that any good primary school teacher should be able to go into some detail about the ability levels of their pupils without any arbitrary testing whatsoever. They should just know them well enough, from working with them every day.

There are vast discrepancies between teachers though I think. My daughter's teacher this year seems to know them individually very well... But her teacher last year? She might as well have been training dogs.

We don't test for the benefit of the child; this is all about league tables and the policing of schools. Schools that come high on the league table, (the schools most parents want their children to attend) are constantly rehearsing their pupils towards key stage tests. I just think its ridiculous to structure a child's education around these demands.

Sometimes it feels like our children are being battery farmed.

Hmm. We recently found out (collective passing of information between parents on FB, coming in bits and pieces from kids) that the kids have been being taken out of class from time to time to do various tests. It's all very cryptic today, with certain kids going three days in a row then never again, others told they had "done fine" and had only ever done one test, and other kids having them maybe once a week. The kids never get the results of these tests or any sort of scoring, and the parents aren't told anything about them AT ALL.

I can only imagine it is indeed for some sort of league tabling? Perhaps to identify educational difficulties - but why wouldn't that info be shared with parents? It's all very weird, anyway. I'm pretty sure we could get the results through a freedom of information request anyway? I assume that right falls to the guardian of a minor...

Too many tests in schools.

I agree - to many tests - let them be kids - and I have just reached age 7 mentally :shrug:

She is totally useless, a bad move in my opinion.

I am fed up of childrens education being used as a political football by all parties.

Give them a spelling test.:hehe:

Spell... think...... fink
Spell.... Isn't it.... innit
:joker:

Too many tests already.Wait until 11 atleast.

No no no cos by then then know how to say fek off.:hehe:

..I don't know the system in Scotland or if the exams they're doing are SATs or SATS equivalents but parents are informed of the results with us..it's usually something that goes out with annual reports, as well as any other tracking data...

...but no, they don't 'identify educational difficulties/needs' at all, in some cases, they're completely misleading...



..anyways, SATs are just data collecting and tracking/projecting really...the expected and the exceeded, type thing and are completely pointless, I don't personally know of anyone/teaching staff or parent, who agree that these tests are needed or who see any value in them whatsoever ...we were talking about this in a staff meeting yesterday/the new 7yr old one proposed for 2017..they've only just changed them from only just changing them previously and now they're intending to only just change them again...so even they're struggling to find any value in them, then....

"completely pointless"

To you Ammi.

..yes indeed Arista, pointless to me...and for any other purpose or to anyone else, the pointlessness of spending time/the huge time they take up out of learning.. in collecting inaccurate and ever changing data...

Of Course
its every changing
thats what happens at your level.

Can you not see a Positive
in sorting out who is behind in Education
even at 7 years old.


None of this must upset you.

..SATs don't 'sort out who is behind' Arista, the children are evaluated with that at school and extra help give if necessary...the data given by SATs is mostly completely inaccurate to a child's learning abilities or potential and doesn't project anything accurate or probable about their future learning/achievements...a 7yr old child can read or write as a 10yr old and can still read or write as a 10yr old, when they reach that age but their projections won't reflect that so will give a false expectation...and obviously a 7yr old/working at an 'average' 7yr old level could in the same way, work at a much higher than their age level at an older age... what upsets me is that so many parents are upset that they feel as though their child can be failing because of these inaccuracies, when their child is actually doing extremely well....

..and no Arista, I see no 'positives' in SATs tests whatsoever..

I have a feeling that these tests could be the precursor to transferring more to free schools, by identifying 'failing' schools in areas of high economic deprivation. Instead of being supported they will be forced to instead effectively be 'sponsored' or face closure.

Or... it could be that the competition for uni places is that fierce now from private and overseas students that to compete kids have to be effectively hot housed practically from birth.

You need a Hug

...I definitively think that hugs have positives, Arista...