Testing Times

BBC Education reports on a Commons Committee findings, with the headline “Tests ‘damaging’ to schools system“.

Much the same old story… MPs investigate an issue and find that an overemphasis on the results of tests leads to a narrowing of the curriculum as teachers ‘teach to the test’, with students learning enough to pass tests but without necessarily developing wider skills and deeper understanding that might be achieved otherwise. And a proposed new testing regime is no better in the eyes of the MPs:

warns that the single-level tests’ “one-way ratchet” system will lead to an “artificial” improvement in results, in which pupils will be “certified to have achieved a level of knowledge and understanding which they do not in truth possess”.

Meanwhile the government appears as entrenched as ever:

Schools Minister Jim Knight defended the use of national tests as part of the process of assessing progress for pupils, schools and the education system.

“Along with teachers’ own judgements and Ofsted reports, tests are a tool which help pupils and their parents to understand how well they are doing, help parents and teachers to understand how well their school is doing, and help the public to scrutinise the performance of the schools system.

The issue is that with tests being used for all of the above, teachers are put in a position where concentrating on the tests above all else may result in the school appearing to be better than if a broader curriculum or more measured teaching regime were applied. Result: potentially worse for the children, artificially inflated position for school in national league tables. As quoted in the BBC article:

“The original purpose of examinations, to assess students’ progress, has become confused with school accountability and the performance management of teachers,” said Dr Dunford.