UK Education Secretary Debates Testing Regime

UK Education Secretary Michael Gove has said children need to be tested more regularly to avoid coasting and a dip in learning between key stages.

UK Education Secretary Michael Gove has said that schools need to make greater use of internal testing and assessment to aid children’s ability to retain and critically use information they have learned.

“Tests are a way of making sure that students understand, recall and can use information. The more students can recall information instinctively, and the more that information is part of their working knowledge, the easier it is for them to perform complex tasks.”

He also criticized the current system of four ‘key stages’ as being too long and resulting in a learning dip between key tests. Mr Gove was quick to point out, however, that he wasn’t necessarily advocating for new national tests to bridge the gaps.

“If you have too long between the statutory assessments of children or young people, there is a chance that things may drift,” he said.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean that you introduce tests half way through Key Stage 2 [from seven to 11], but it does mean that we have got to think hard about why they have drawn attention to that.

Education standards in the UK have been a major national concern in the wake of last year’s riots, which many groups are attributing to a disaffected youth failed by the current education system. There is a widespread feeling that something must be done to avoid the development of a large unemployable underclass.

Gove told an education select committee that the major problem with the current ‘Key Stages’ system was that too many pupils were being allowed to coast between the national tests, especially at primary school level. His remarks may not prove popular with teachers unions however who have long complained that primary school children are already being overtested, and recently suggested that the increased focus on testing in recent years had compromised their integrity.

Speaking after the select committee, he added: “I’m all in favour of more tests but I’m not necessarily in favour of more nationally-set tests at certain points.

“The point the panel make is that the longer a key stage the greater the potential for both a dip and also for a lack of rigour in knowing that certain amounts of knowledge have been absorbed.”

In 2011, more than 25% of children finished primary education without a full grasp of what are colloquially referred to as the ‘three R’s’: reading, writing and arithmetic. There is evidence that even talented pupils leaving primary school are back-sliding during secondary education and 40% of students failed to get five GCSE passes which included English and Maths.

Comments

Doug

April 26, 2012 at 6:21 am

The issue is not, and never has been testing. The issue is poverty, concentrated poverty and income polarization.

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John Cunningham

April 26, 2012 at 9:55 am

I do object to the words disaffected and underclass!
Words like this ‘disengage’ people even more. Perhaps if people, govt ministers, media knew how to engage with these people groups properly we may see a solid way forward.

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Sian

April 27, 2012 at 7:50 am

Schools tend to test every year using optional SATs. I think that testing is not going to be beneficial for the so called disaffected because they probably need to be educated in a different way, a lot of them lack confidence and need to be given the opportunity to find their non academic strengths. A lot of them lack respect and need to learn it.

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- Linda Brees
  
  April 27, 2012 at 8:25 am
  
  Yeah, it’s excellent that you offer your opinion on what “they” need to learn when you apparently have so little respect for the writer of this article and your fellow commenters that you actually failed to read it at all. This article is about schools in the UK not the U.S.
  
  Reply
  - Sian
    
    April 27, 2012 at 12:52 pm
    
    I am talking about schools in the UK and I don’t believe that I was being disrespectful to anyone. All I was saying was that children are tested between key stages informally using tests that are similar in format to the SATs tests in year six. Some children need a different approach to learning (by the way they are taught) than through testing because they already are below the level expected for their age. When children fall too far behind they lack confidence and become disaffected and then misbehave. That is all I was saying and I think that it is good that they are exploring all avenues to deal with the issue.
    
    Reply
  - Sian
    
    April 27, 2012 at 1:16 pm
    
    Dear Linda I noticed that you have made really well informed comments and googled you – are you the same person who is a director of the ICS team. I am very interested in the work you do. I used to be a teacher but am now developing my own business which is aiming towards using puppets, drama, music, movement, craft and NLP to develop children’s confidence and communication skills. I am still in the process of studying and am using my puppets, music and games to entertain children. I am based in the UK.
    
    Reply
David

April 27, 2012 at 11:53 am

Can I suggest that this sentence from the above article -

“Education standards in the UK have been a major national concern in the wake of last year’s riots, which many groups are attributing to a disaffected youth failed by the current education system”

be replaced with this sentence -

“Education standards in the UK have been a major national concern in the wake of last year’s riots, which many groups are attributing to a disaffected youth failed by THEIR PARENTS.”

Reply