SAT Sitting Swaps to Secondary School
By Alistair Owens www.keen2learn.co.ukl
The UK Conservative party has proposed key stage 2 SAT tests, normally held in the final year of primary school, should be transferred to the secondary school. The proposal met with mixed response from teachers. Half see it as a great idea, the other half see it as ludicrous. My money is on it being a good idea. It will need development but it will stop the games being played with educational standards, save a mass of cash and improve the teaching content.
For years we have heard of “teaching to the test.†The phenomena emerged when it became apparent children’s performance in SAT’s would indicate the competency of the school. League tables; be they intrinsically simplistic and inaccurate, were born, and true to form in all targeted functions, open to manipulation. The focus of teaching resources in the final year of primary school has been known to overly concentrate on training children how to pass the tests. This is a dramatic loss of educational opportunity for children whose learning curve is highly positive. It is also an impingement on the skill of the teachers unable to exert their pedagogical prowess and make learning interesting and enjoyable. The negative outcome of what was an original sensible idea now far outweighs the benefits. The target driven mentality, in common with its adoption in other public services has induced a skew. “Target points mean prizes†resulting in salary adjustments, bonuses, grants, local accreditation. And perhaps the greatest incentive; a positive outcome means Ofsted leave you alone.
A failing school, common with a football club falling out of the Premium league, suffer disproportionate consequential penalties both real and perceived. The temptation to maximise results can be overwhelming. And so children are groomed to pass exams instead of having fun learning. They loose faith and the enjoyment of education. Although they may ultimately pass the SAT test their narrow band of learning has ill equipped them for secondary school.
Criticism from both primary and secondary head teachers show this is not a one sided equation. Primary head teachers have seen “bright†primary school children capable of continuing progress fall by the wayside in secondary school. Secondary heads indicate the standard of maths and English literacy in the new intake from primary schools is woefully inadequate to meet the demands of keys stage 3and 4.
The proposal to move the key stage 2 SAT test to the secondary school would be the solution. Keen2learn has long said entrance exams should be set and processed by the receiving party. Secondary schools should administer entrance to secondary school, thereby setting the standards and curriculum of primary schools. Universities would judge entrance to higher education and set the standards and curriculum of secondary schools. Ultimately the CBI would set the university standards for entrance to employment.
A key benefit of the adoption of both technology and relevance would be a reduction in the £54m annual cost of marking exam papers. Secondary schools with the incentive to adopt technology could handle the marking logistics and enjoy the income instead of the funds being paid to external consultants.
No easy solution, concerted effort is required to establish the new ground rules. But let it be the teachers who decide rather than too many remote theorists. The incentive would be the improved standard of leaning and reduced operating budgets. Just at the moment that seems to be a really positive outcome, or should I say target!
