Testing regime for 11-year-olds 'puts pupils off education'
Monday, 2 April 2007
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Children are being taught in "boot camp" classes in their final year of primary school as desperate teachers prepare them for national curriculum tests, a teachers' leader will warn tonight.
Dr Mary Bousted, the general secretary of the Association of Teachers, will argue that the tough testing regime is putting many youngsters off education.
As a result, Britain has become "the poor man of Europe" when it comes to persuading youngsters to stay on at school after 16.
Dr Bousted will tell her union's annual conference: "Young people in Britain walk away from full-time education when they reach young adulthood and they do not return."
She will argue that ministers will never solve the problem by sticking to the current regime, whereby youngsters face external tests and exams throughout their educational life.
In particular, she singles out the final year of primary school (year six) when pupils take national curriculum tests for 11-year-olds.
"Recently, a primary school headteacher said to me it is a pretence to suggest that, in year six classes, the period from September to May is spent doing anything other than test preparation," she will say.
"The consequences are catastrophic. They lead to a period of exhaustion, not only for the teacher, but also for the pupils who are route-marched through to level (the standard expected of an 11-year-old and by which league tables rank primary schools).
"We know that real learning does not take place in boot camp year six classes."
"We know things need to be improved," she will tell the conference in Bournemouth: "We agree with the Government's conclusions that progress has slowed at primary level: that too many pupils don't make good progress at key stage three (for 11 to 14-year-olds) and that not enough pupils get five A* to C grades including English and maths.
"But we do not agree with the Government's solution to these problems, which is, essentially, to do more of the same - more testing, more pressure more high stakes accountability structures. We ask the question, if they haven't worked so far, why will more of them do any better?"
Dr Bousted's comments come at a time when ministers are under growing pressure to review - in particular - the national curriculum tests for 11 and 14-year-olds.
Dr Ken Boston, the chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority - the Government's exams watchdog, has argued that the national end-of-year tests should be replaced by testing of a sample of pupils so ministers can keep a check on progress.
In addition, he wants children to be assessed in subjects such as maths and English when their teachers believe they are ready to move up a national curriculum grade.
Professor David Hargreaves, a member of the inquiry team appointed by the Government to look at education for the year 2020, has criticised ministers for neglecting one of its recommendations - that there should be a top-level investigation reporting by September into what forms of assessment and testing are needed.
He accused them of "wilful blindess" in desperately supporting "a discredited system".
* New legal powers for teachers to discipline unruly pupils came into force yesterday.
For the first tim,e teachers will have the legal right to place pupils in detention and confiscate items such as mobile phones.
