S a t s

I couldnt help but want to post this . It sums up my anger and that of my wife an ex Teacher who spent 30 years TEACHING.

http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-n...pupils-through

Re: S a t s

At a Primary school near me..
The results of these tests are set to be shared with parents with an accompanying letter
The letter will recommend that those children who are below their literacy and numeracy "age" should seek extra tuition and support to bring them up to par before their next national tests

Re: S a t s

I'm so pleased my 'kids' are way past schooling age as it must be a nightmare for kids/parents/teachers these days.
its quite funny actually considering my job took me away a lot when then the children were little ,folowed often by periods of 'dad being home a lot too' , and a few times of late whilst weve all been out together socialising ,in conversation they've passed comment that they all had and enjoyed a lovely childhood and I cant say how pleased I felt the first time I heard them say that , silly but it was as if they were giving me marks out of 10 as a dad , my 'parent report' as opposed to school report.
but quite how id cope today with youngsters in school I don't know, as I'm a firm believer in a solid sound education yet I'm also one for childhood should be full of playtimes, good times as you only get one childhood .......enjoy it!

Re: S a t s

The article is over dramatised and completely misses the point.

Tests are nothing new, all children at all ages have always been tested and some do better than others. The reasons for testing are to assess progress and identify where additional help may be needed.

SATs are no different except for one thing, by being set nationally it ensures all children are assessed against the same targets and allows some comparison between schools, areas and most crucially teachers.

It is no surprise that many teachers don't like SAT's as it is they who fear the results may highlight a deficiency in their teaching abilities. For that reason it is the teachers who build these tests up so much, they who pile the pressure on and the children who suffer for it.

Re: S a t s

Easy with those days behind me--`teaching` is not about tests,nor yelling,nor the cane. It`s about facilitating learning.

Re: S a t s

These children should be enjoying life , not forced to do tests at that age . They should be finding out about the countryside etc etc. All these ministers come from university education, and because you have a degree it is assumed that that qualifies you to advise on a subject that you have very little knowledge about. It is not possible to force say an Autistic child to do tests, particularly at that age . It will have been a great achievement to have got them into mainstream .

Re: S a t s

When were you last in school with a group of 5 and 6 year olds. The Article is correct in every way

Re: S a t s

Spot on. How are we to judge a child's progress if we don't test them? How do we know the areas they need help in if we don't test them?
Employers regularly complain about the quality of recruits who have to be trained in the basics before they are employable.

Re: S a t s

I and I am sure many others here had to do the 11 plus exam, to decide which kind of school would give us the best education. I remember it was a bit scary but we were told to do the best we could and only discovered how well we had done when we received the list of schools we could choose to apply for. I don't recall any of us being over stressed by this exam.
I am afraid we are all becoming over protective of children and looking for excuses as to why they don't do so well, but if we don't encourage children to cope with exams, how can we teach them to deal with the many more tests that they will encounter through life?
I often attend children's shows at my local primary school and am always impressed by the fact that every child in the school does something, like some do the music and sound effects, some do the lighting, some prepare and sell the snacks for the interval and all the tiny ones play parts like flowers or rabbits to fit the story. The children love the excitement of doing this, they all play out at break times and they are taken to learn how to swim... but they also need to learn the main reason they are at school, and that is to learn and show how much they have learned.
It is the governments fault that these exams are disliked, because they are seen as a way of laying blame on pupils and teachers rather than acknowledging that the real problem with education is lack of money to provide it.

Re: S a t s

I take it that you're an expert on primary education then.