Hoorah. Now follow the logic and abolish KS1 and KS2 SATS as well, or at least give schools the chance to opt out and use the time normally spent cramming for SATS to actually educate our kids.
Trouble is, it's all tied up with the need for 'league tables' and 'parent choice' which are great ways to ensure social division (all the parents who can afford it move house into the catchment areas for good schools, so the poorer you are, the less chance you have of getting a good education for your child). So parent choice only works for those who can afford it, and it fails everyone else. There's got to be a better way.
I was livid when I heard this. We have been campaigning to get rid of key stage 1 SATs for years, even before Scotland and Wales abandoned them.
ReplyDeleteOn channel 4 news (which I think is the most balanced) they showed children who took test. Children aged 11, 14 and 16, and said that the middle was being taken out. Children aged 7 weren't even featured. That's because the government now call Key Stage 1 SATs 'teacher assessment'. What most people don't realise is that to get the teacher assessment you have to do a SAT!
Pauline