2006
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2003
2002 and earlier
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| 2002 and earlier news |
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Efforts by central and local government to raise standards in
schools have little or no impact, according to separate studies
by two leading academics. Stephen Gorard of York University and
Peter Tymms of Durham's curriculum and evaluation and management
centre have concluded that pupils' results have been determined
by other factors, particularly wealth and prior attainment.
Professor Gorard said that improvements in the results of individual
secondaries, including academies, are likely to be the result
of changes in their intake or the exclusion of difficult students
before they sit exams. Professor Tymms found variations of less
than 1% in the performance of 11-year-olds in different authorities
once external factors such as prior attainment and family income
were taken into account. The report brings together previous research
on a range of government initiatives including academies, targets
and widening participation in higher education.
The report criticises value-added league tables for misleading
parents about the effectiveness of schools because they fail to
give enough credit to schools in poorer areas and with weaker
intakes. Professor Gorard stated that claims that targets have
helped push up standards are also contradicted by the evidence.
The biggest increase in the proportion of pupils gaining five
A*- C GCSEs occurred in 1992, the year before the Conservatives
introduced national targets. He went on to say: "In each case
there is no convincing evidence of the beneficial impact of educational
policy interventions, even where the originators of the intervention
claim otherwise."
Professor Tymms looked at government data on national test results
for seven and 11-year-olds from 2002/03 and figures charting the
progress of pupils at more than 1,000 primaries. The report concludes
that local education authorities make little difference: "Across
the whole of England it can be said that very little importance
can be attached to the impact of one LEA compared to another."
This contradicts Ofsted evidence and raises questions about the
government's policy of privatising LEAs judged to be failing by
inspectors.
Professor Tymms identifies three possible explanations: the
actions of LEAs are too remote to make a difference in classrooms;
the centralisation of education policy in England: and LEAs may
have too little capacity to act independently because most funds
have to be devolved to schools.
In order to raise attainment of pupils in Newcastle Professor
Tymms recommends a package that would cost an extra £1.5million
a year, including extra teacher training, more focus on recruiting
and retaining good teachers and schemes such as peer mentoring
designed to counteract the effects of deprivation.
(TES, 31 March 2006)
Many teachers in England are still using the same testing regime
for seven-year-olds, despite a relaxation in the test guidelines,
a report suggests. Schools no longer have to report the results
of tests just use them as a basis for teacher assessment. A report
by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority said most teachers
were still using the same tests and at the same time in the summer
term.
The new assessment arrangements allow teachers to test children
at any point between January and the end of the summer term. They
still sit national curriculum tests (often known as Sats) but
teachers may use their own tests on which to base their assessment.
Teachers use the test results to assess a child's level, which
is reported to parents at the end of the school year.
The arrangements were piloted in 5,000 schools in 2004 and made
available across England in 2005. The pilot study showed that
teacher assessment with a more flexible test was more accurate
than raw test results. The trial also found that "the new
arrangements offer a system which is at least as robust",
according to the QCA's follow-up report.
The new system was welcomed by most teaching unions. But teachers
of Year 2 pupils were still more likely to use tests for reading,
writing and mathematics in the summer term, the report said.
The work was carried out by the National Foundation for Educational
Research. It said most teachers were confident enough to make
judgements about pupils' progress, but there was a wide variation
in the amount of work they kept in support of their assessments.
It sent questionnaires to headteachers, junior school headteachers
and teachers of Year 2 pupils, including schools that had taken
part in the pilot.
It found that head teachers of junior schools (pupils aged from
seven to 11) were more likely to test Year 3 pupils who arrived
from other infant schools than were primary schools, which take
pupils from their own infant years.
Ken Boston, QCA chief executive, said: "The new arrangements
offer a wide range of formative options for educators and I am
confident that the new arrangements for seven-year-olds will have
a significant impact on the way children are assessed."
A spokesperson for the National Union of Teachers said teachers
would always choose to test at the most appropriate time for the
pupils. If they tested earlier in the year pupils would have had
less time to cover in depth the subjects tested. But she said
the new system was beneficial to teachers, who could choose the
exact time that suited them and come to their own judgements on
a child's attainment level.
(www.bbc.co.uk 25 November 2005)
Performance-related pay awards have inspired teachers to raise their
game and achieve better results for GCSE pupils, according to a
study of the scheme. Researchers from the University of Bristol
have found that children whose teacher had received a financial
performance reward, achieved half a grade higher in each subject
at GCSE.
The Performance Threshold scheme was introduced in 2000 to give
an incentive to experienced teachers, who had been previously paid
on a unified basic salary scale and could only raise their wages
by taking on extra administrative duties. Five years ago, the concept
of bonuses for individual teachers was condemned by unions for being
divisive and unfair. But in
Paying teachers by results Simon
Burgess and Carol Propper, of the Centre for Market and Public Organisation,
found that the introduction of the scheme achieved "on average
half a GCSE point more than equivalent pupils taught by the same
teachers before the scheme was introduced". The academics,
who assessed the results of 181 teachers at 25 schools from the
Midlands to Bristol, tracked the average progress of their 14-year-old
pupils at key stage 3 and later at GCSE level, before and after
the reform.
(The Times, 8 December 2005)
The proportion of students passing A-levels climbed to more
than 96 per cent in August 2005, prompting Lord Adonis, schools
minister, to herald a "new age of the teacher". As critics
complained that the rise showed the so-called "gold standard"
has been compromised, Lord Adonis gave his explanation for the
23rd consecutive year-on-year increase: teachers are now better
at their job. "Teaching and leadership in schools are significantly
improving, so we should expect exam results to improve too,"
he said. "It would be a major cause for concern if they didn't."
He said that the proportion of secondary school teaching that
inspectors rated "good" or "excellent" had
risen from 59 per cent in 1997 to 72 per cent in 2004.
Boys continue to close the gap with girls in both the number
scoring the top marks as well as the percentage of overall passes.
The percentage of boys gaining a C grade or better climbed by
1.2 points this year, to 66.7 per cent, while the figure for girls
rose just 0.7 points to 72.6 per cent. Some 21.5 per cent of boys
gained an A grade, up 0.5 points on last year, while the percentage
for girls rose by 0.2 points, to 23.9 per cent. Boys' results
also improved faster at AS-level.
The results will be seen as a further justification for Government
initiatives to close the gender gap. However, yet another overall
increase in results - albeit smaller than in previous years -
has fuelled claims that A-levels are getting easier.
(TES, 19 August 2005)
School Standards Minister Jacqui Smith has paid tribute to pupils
and teachers for the best ever test results for 14-year-olds, continuing
the year-on-year improvements seen at key stage 3. Across the country,
there were increases in success rates in all the core subjects -
English, maths, science and ICT - with English recording its biggest
rise since 1998.
The provisional National Curriculum test results for 14 year olds
reaching the expected level for their age show that:
- English results increased by 3 percentage points from 71%
in 2004 to 74% in 2005 - the biggest rise since 1998;
- maths results increased by 1 percentage point from 73% in
2004 to 74% in 2005;
- science results increased by 4 percentage points from 66%
in 2004 to 70% in 2005 - the first full cohort to benefit from
three years' of Strategy support; and
- ICT teacher assessment results increased by 2 percentage
points from 67% in 2004 to 69% in 2005.
(DfES Press release, 8 September 2005)
A-level results improved for the 23rd year in a row in 2005. The
overall pass rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 96.2%, while
the percentage of A-level students awarded an A grade went up by
0.4% to 22.8%.
The performance gap between girls and boys narrowed for the second
year running, reversing previous trends, with boys improving their
results at a faster rate than girls. More boys also sat so called
shortage subjects, including the sciences and languages.
The rise will also fuel the row over the future of A-levels. The
Government is showing no sign that it will cave in to pressure to
reform the process and introduce a replacement diploma. However,
the independent schools sector signalled it was considering a move
away from A-levels and will discuss setting up of its own qualification
at a conference in September 2005.
(Guardian, 18 August 2005)
The BBC story
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4132292.stm
reports on this year's examination results for Scottish Qualifications
Authority awards.
(BBC website, 9 August 2005)
Schools have overwhelmingly failed to hit the targets set for
them by ministers, the Government has admitted. Eleven out of
14 school targets set by the Government between 2000 and 2002
have been or are likely to be missed, the annual report of the
Department for Education and Skills has revealed. Of the eleven,
6 have been missed and 5 are behind schedule. Only three are on
course to be met. Efforts to improve literacy and numeracy in
primaries, boost GCSE results and improve the education of children
in care have all fallen short. Union leaders have accused the
Government of shooting itself in the foot over targets by making
it easy for critics to attack real improvements made by schools.
Failure to hit literacy and numeracy targets contributed to the
early departure of Estelle Morris, one of Ruth Kelly's predecessors
as education secretary. The latest revelation is unlikely to promote
similar political upheaval, as the Government was widely expected
to miss many of the targets. Nevertheless, there is evidence that
progress has been slower than predicted. Last year's DfES annual
report showed the Government expected to miss 16 out of 29 school
targets, but said efforts to increase the number of 19-year-olds
with five or more A*-C GCSEs and reduce truancy were on course.
Both targets have been missed, however.
Fewer 19-year-olds are gaining the equivalent of five good GCSEs
than when the target was announced in 2002. Efforts to reduce
truancy by 10% failed. Unauthorised absence, according to the
Government, "has remained static for a decade". Changes
to the target regime account for the different number of aims
assessed in 2004 and in 2005. Earlier targets, including the missed
truancy target and additional literacy and numeracy targets for
11 and 14-year-olds, have now been subsumed into new targets announced
as part of the 2004 spending review, and are not assessed separately
in the latest report.
(TES, 24 June 2005)
Schools will be forced to disclose their maths and English GCSE
results separately in league tables of exams from this autumn
in an effort to improve standards in basic skills. The idea is
aimed at plugging a loophole that allows schools to climb to the
top of the tables even if their pupils fail to obtain top A* to
C-grade passes in either of the two subjects.
It follows a report showing that hardly any of the schools singled
out as the most improved in the country had achieved their ranking
through improving results in English or maths. More than half
the pupils in seven of the top ten schools had failed to get A*
to C-grade passes in either subject. Almost all relied on putting
pupils in for GNVQs (vocational qualification) in science, which
are deemed to be worth the equivalent of four GCSE passes by the
Government exams watchdog, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
Many educationalists regard the use of vocational qualifications
to boost league table rankings as a "scam". The system
means a pupil can be recorded as having obtained five top-grade
passes - the main measure for ranking schools - if he or she has
a GNVQ in information technology and a GCSE in, say, religious
education.
(Independent, 20 June 2005)
Under-funding, league tables, and the slower take-up of vocational
qualifications in Wales could be to blame for a widening performance
gap between English and Welsh GCSE students. Welsh students matched
English teenagers' GCSE performance from 1998 to 2001. But the
latest comparative statistics show that English teenagers have
pulled ahead again. Last summer, 54% achieved five or more A*
to C grade GCSEs, compared to 51% in Wales.
Bob Adams, research officer with the Welsh Joint Education Committee,
suggested performance tables in England have led some schools
to "cynically manipulate" GCSE entries, for example
by targeting borderline D-grade students. He speculated that Welsh
secondaries' slowness to endorse vocational qualifications, worth
the equivalent of up to four good GCSEs, may also be to blame.
Mr Adams said: "Vocational exams have taken off slowly in
Wales, and mainly for the less able."
(TES Cymru, 10 June 2005)
Improvements in primary schools in Labour's first term may not
be as dramatic as test results have indicated, further evidence
has suggested. Key Stage 2 pupils' scores under teacher assessment
improved more slowly than did their test results in the years
1996-2000, the first detailed analysis of assessment scores in
these years has shown. The proportion of pupils achieving level
4 in the English tests increased by 17 percentage points, from
58 to 75%, /but under teacher assessment the rise was only 10
points, from 60 to 70%. In maths, test scores rose 18 points,
from 54 to 72%. Teacher assessment scores improved only 12 points,
from 60 to 72%.
Professor Colin Richards, of St Martin's College, Lancaster,
who carried out the analysis for the Association of Teachers and
Lecturers, said the figures added further weight to the argument
that primary improvements had been overstated. The results come
as the Department for Education and Skills is embroiled in a row
with the Statistics Commission over the degree to which standards
have improved in primaries. Professor Richards' 27-page report
said the evidence suggested that there had been improvements between
1995 and 2001 in English, maths and science, but that this had
not been as great as the increased test scores implied.
(TES, 13 May 2005)
The Government's test and exams regulator has conceded that dramatic
improvements in primary pupils' English scores in the late 1990s
may have exaggerated the true rise in standards. The Qualifications
and Curriculum Authority made its position clear during a row
between ministers and the Government's Statistics Commission.
Scores for 11-year-olds jumped from 48% reaching the expected
level in English in 1995, to 75% in 2000. But the commission said
this rise was largely down to teachers drilling pupils for the
tests.
Sir David Normington, permanent secretary at the Department for
Education and Skills, wrote to the commission saying that the
DfES did not accept the report's conclusions. He called on the
commission to think again and "set the record straight".
The commission, however, has so far refused to do so. Sir David
Rhind, its chairman, wrote back to say that ministers should agree
that improvements were less dramatic than the scores suggested.
In evidence to the commission, QCA backed the findings of the
largest study into national test standards-setting, carried out
by Alf Massey, of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations
Syndicate. It found that the pass mark for KS2 English was set
five marks too low in both 1999 and 2000 because the standard
of the reading test fell. Therefore the gains in reading have
been to some extent "illusory". Tim Oates, QCA head
of research and statistics, wrote, "The Massey report confirmed
that standards have risen, but not necessarily to the extent suggested
by national curriculum assessment outcomes [test scores]."
(TES, 6 May 2005)
The BBC story reports on a research study in England that suggested
that private tuition prior to exams might have little impact on
pupil attainment. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4421799.stm
Mapping and evaluating shadow education, by Judith Ireson
and Katie Rushforth, is available on http://www.ioe.ac.uk/schools/phd/excel/publications.htm
(BBC website, 8 April 2005)
The Government's claim to have brought about a dramatic improvement
in primary school standards - one of the principal planks in its
election platform - was rejected in February 2005 by the statistics
watchdog as a "substantial overstatement".
The Statistics Commission, an independent body set up by the
Government to "help ensure that official statistics are trustworthy",
said that the "remarkable" rise in the national test
scores of 11-year-olds in the late 1990s had been "widely
publicised as evidence of a rapid rise in standards in primary
schools". But the claim was untrue. Part of the rise could
be explained by other factors, and it was satisfied that standards
had not improved as much as the test scores suggested. The other
factors included the incentive for teachers to "teach to
the test", which could be expected to lead to an initial
rise in test scores "even if it does nothing to raise standards".
The commission's ruling - the first official confirmation of
what some educationalists have long suspected - came with a warning.
"Ministers and others who may want to use the test scores
in a policy context need to be made fully aware of any caveats
about their interpretation," the commission said. "There
are a number of qualifications that need to be made. Yet Government
departments have usually failed to mention any caveats about other
possible reasons for rising test scores in their public comments.
"We feel that public presentation of the key stage scores
in statistical releases should include a clear statement about
the uses to which the data may be put, and the limitations on
it in respect of those uses. In that statement, it should be recognised
that part of the rapid rise in test scores from 1995 to 2000 can
be explained by factors other than a rise in standards."
The commission was ruling on a complaint by Prof Peter Tymms of
Durham University's curriculum, evaluation and management centre.
Pointing to the contrast between his and other studies of pupils'
achievements and the relentless rise in national test scores,
he had questioned whether standards were really rising in primary
schools. Scores in standardised tests had shown only a slight
improvement. Yet between 1995, when the key stage 2 tests for
11-year-olds were introduced by the Tories, and 2000, the percentage
of pupils awarded Level 4 or above had risen from 48% to 75% in
English and from 44% to 72% in maths. Since then, the upward trend
had slowed - reaching 78% in English and 74% in maths last year
- apparently because the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
had tightened its procedures to maintain consistency from one
year to the next.
Prof Tymms welcomed the ruling, saying, "We need an independent
body to monitor standards over time. It's not a task that the
national tests can perform because the test scores move for reasons
that have nothing to with the standards that the children taking
them have reached."
(Telegraph, 18 February 2005)
New research casts doubt over whether schools singled out in
Government exam league tables as the most improved in the country
deserve their ranking. A study of the 10 most improved secondary
schools in last year's tables shows more than half the pupils
in seven of them failed to get top grade A* to C passes in either
maths or English. Almost all relied instead on putting the majority
of their pupils in for GNVQs (vocational qualifications) in information
technology or science, deemed to be worth the equivalent of four
GCSE passes.
The research, by a retired headteacher, David Brown, underlines
concerns by the former chief schools inspector, Sir Mike Tomlinson,
who headed a Government inquiry into exam reforms, that pupils
can achieve the benchmark of five A* to C grade GCSE passes -
without either English or maths.
"Schools could theoretically top a future GCSE five A* to
C grade league table without pupils gaining a GCSE pass at any
grade in any subject," Mr Brown wrote in his report. He argued
that all schools would have to do was to put all of their pupils
in for the intermediate GNVQs in information technology and science
and - if they passed - they would be granted eight A* to C grade
passes.
(Independent, 12 January 2005)
England's system for managing exams and checking grades are accurate
is the best in the world, an official inquiry has concluded. An
independent committee on exam standards said that it was difficult
to see how more care could be taken to ensure that grades were
accurate. The committee, set up after the 2002 A-level fiasco,
said it was impossible to say whether exam standards had risen
or fallen in recent years, or whether some subjects were harder
than others. It made little sense to ask whether standards have
been maintained over a long period of time because of syllabus
changes.
(TES, 3 December 2004)
English results for 14-year-olds were "plagued with a myriad
of errors" in 2004, according to a devastating official report
published in November, along with pupils results which were three
months late. Jonathan Ford, the managing director of the National
Assessment Agency, resigned after the report found the tests flawed
from start to finish. Hundreds of schools complained after some
pupils were awarded grades up to five levels lower than expected.
Most have received corrected results in the past few weeks but
more than 500 have still not had their final scores.
Published results showing the number of pupils reaching the expected
level in English increased from 69% in 2003 to 71%. The Government's
2004 target was 75%. But the results were overshadowed by the
findings of the group set up by the Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority to examine complaints. The assessment agency is part
of the QCA. The group was inundated with frustrated and disillusioned
submissions from secondary schools angry that results were delivered
late and without being properly checked. League tables for 14-year-olds
are now are not now expected until March 2005.
(TES, 19 November 2004)
Teachers are preparing 11-year-olds for tests in English by getting
them to learn passages of text and stock phrases word-for-word.
England's first test regulator has warned schools against "unacceptable"
over-preparation for key stage 2 assessments.
Cases where answers from one class are suspiciously similar will
be investigated for malpractice, the Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority has said. The QCA's latest test guidance says: "In
the past, some pupils have learnt or practised pieces of writing
to reproduce in the English writing test. This is not acceptable.
If pupils' responses do not relate to the prompt given in the
test, they will not gain any marks for composition and effect."
(TES, 12 November 2004)
Primary teachers are not opposed to tests for 11-year-olds but
resent the time they have to spend on coaching and the intense
pressure to do well, research reveals. It shows that children
are now being coached for up to nine months before sitting the
key stage 2 tests, with preparation often beginning at the start
of the academic year. But the survey of 178 primary teachers'
views of the KS2 reading tests says that, overall, they were happy
with the exams themselves.
Teachers' negative feelings about the tests stemmed from the
pressure on them and their pupils, rather than the nature of the
papers, said the National Foundation for Educational Research
study. "Despite the negative publicity, teachers don't seem
to mind the actual tests," it concluded.
The study found that schools' preparation for the tests, which
take place in May, typically begins at the start of term, immediately
after Christmas. However, a third of respondents admitted that
they started coaching their youngsters as early as September.
Full details will be available from www.nfer.org.uk
(TES, 15 October 2004)
Results of English tests taken by more than 600,000 14-year-olds
will be inaccurate when they are eventually released in Autumn
04, teachers and local authority advisors across England have
said. Confidence in the KS3 results, which has been shaky at best
in recent years, appears to have collapsed in the light of shambolic
administrative and marking problems this summer. Seven out of
ten advisers said they did not think the final English results
for 2004 would accurately reflect their school's achievement.
Following the botched launch of new marking arrangements, 85%
said they thought the results would be less reliable than last
year. Not a single adviser in the 50 authorities questioned was
happy with the administration of the year's tests.
(TES, 8 October 2004)
England's inspection regime has been accused of contributing
to the problems facing some of the country's toughest schools.
Being branded failing can send schools into a spiral of decline,
making it harder to recruit good staff and high-achieving pupils
and influential committee of MPs said. It urged the Government
to do more to help schools with problems and welcomed moves towards
more self-assessment which are being introduced in September 2005.
The House of Commons education select committee said the Office
for Standards in Education, which costs taxpayers £207 million
a year, must prove that it offers value for money. MPs also criticised
the inspectorate for not employing enough ethnic-minority staff
in their annual review of the watchdog, which now employs 2,500
people. Their findings come amid concern over the number of schools
where standards appear to have deteriorated even after the inspectors
have identified problems. Some 43 schools judged to have been
in serious weaknesses, the second worse category, in 2001/2, had
declined further and were placed in special measures the following
year, said the committee.
The work of Ofsted is available from the Stationery Office: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop
(TES, 1 October 2004)
It could be argued that the Primary National Strategy is trying
to make the national curriculum more child-centred through its
latest pack of staff development materials. Just out and available
for ordering, this box of goodies is meant to be used "as
and when", with enough material to work over several years.
Among its themes are cross-curricular topics, formative assessment,
helping children work together, and designing learning for the
individual child. Schools don't have to use it; Maureen Lewis
of the Strategy describes it as a starting point, and as work
in progress. The idea is that schools evaluate their own strengths
and weaknesses and decide what they want to work on first.
This is one of the main reasons this box of materials has gone
out all at once - so schools can make their own choices. But there
is a danger that some will be daunted by the sheer size of the
thing, and put it in the back cupboard where it can't bite. However,
local education authorities and schools who began working on the
preliminary booklets sent out over the summer appear to be taking
them on board.
The pack aims to demonstrate how children can get better at different
aspects of learning. It encourages teachers explicitly to draw
children's attention to them, pointing out how pupils can use
methods employed in design technology, for instance, to evaluate
their writing or maths work. Dr Lewis explains: "At the end
of KS2, what might a child look like if they're good at enquiry?
And we say, this is already here in the national curriculum. Here
are some examples." The pack gives descriptions of the characteristics
a child good at, say, problem-solving might have, and offers case
studies. For instance, some indicators of problem-solving skills
are:
- Understanding the concept of cause and effect
- Applying prior learning to a problem
- Considering a range of possible solutions
- Asking question and selecting and recording information relevant
to the problem
- Predicting the possible effects of different kinds of solutions
or modifications.
But Dr Lewis emphasises: "What we don't want teachers to
do is use this as an assessment tick list. It is better to use
the pack as a starting point for staff thinking and planning.
"Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching in primary
years" is available from www.standards.dfes.gov.uk
or dfes@prolog.uk.com
(TES, 24 September 2004)
Value-added and traditional league tables exaggerate differences
between schools and can be an unreliable indicator of their performance,
the Government has admitted. Most variation in schools' test results
is caused by factors such as deprivation, prior attainment and special
needs rather than differences in effectiveness, a Department for
Education and Skills analysis of exam results found.
The report is available from www.dfes.gov.uk.
(TES, 6 August 2004)
The Executive has this week published the most recent 5-14 attainment
figures - despite admitting they are unreliable. Peter Peacock,
the Education Minister, nonetheless welcomed what he called a
continuing trend of improvement in literacy and numeracy. "More
pupils are hitting the mark in critical subjects," he added
but acknowledged continuing problems with the early secondary
years and with boys.
Although there are signs of improvement, particularly in the
bogey subject of pupils' writing, the Executive's acknowledgment
of weaknesses in the system has created too many difficulties
for it to be too enthusiastic about the results - not least because
it has to face the fact that the 5-14 figures have shown rising
standards while the Assessment of Achievement Programme surveys
have highlighted a decline.
The 5-14 data, for the 2002-03 session, continues to show much
the same pattern as before - a strong performance in the early
years which steadily worsens into upper primary and lower secondary.
But pupils are doing better at each 5-14 level compared with previous
years. The decline by stages is evident in the overall picture
which shows 89.3% of P3 youngsters achieving level A as expected
(up 3.5% from 1999), falling to 55.3% of S2 attaining level E
(up 7.5% from 1999). The improvement over four years at the troubled
S2 stage means the headline embarrassment that "over half
of 14-year-olds" have failed to achieve basic levels has
been turned round. More than half now achieve level E in the basics
- 60.6% in reading, 51.2% in writing and 54.2% in maths.
The gap between boys and girls widens with age in all three areas
if the curriculum, most dramatically in writing, where there is
a 7% difference in the numbers attaining level A in P3 which grows
to a 17.5% advantage for girls achieving level E in S2.
(TES Scotland, 12 December 2003)
Secondary schools in the UK are still failing 40% of their pupils,
according to a report by the National Commission on Education
which says that almost 39% of youngsters in Britain leave full-time
education without a worthwhile qualification; in France and Germany
that figure is only 20%. It also says those youngsters who leave
school without A* to C grade GCSE passes could benefit from top-class
vocational education.
10 years ago, the commission produced a devastating critique
of Britain's education performance after a review of schools'
performance, following an enquiry led by the former head of the
Government's statistical service, Sir Claus Moser.
The follow-up report, chaired by Sir John Cassels, the director
of the commission, says: "Time appears to have been wasted
in clinging to a singularly narrow British conception of what
constitutes a good education. Action is badly needed to reverse
both the disaffection of young teenagers, as evidenced by truancy,
exclusion and under-performance, and the stubbornly high incidence
of young people who do poorly in their GCSEs and drop out of education
at 16 or soon after." But the report also says that "compared
with 10 years ago….education and training in the UK are serving
more people better." It adds that there have been significant
improvements in literacy and numeracy, between 1996 and 2002,
for 11-year-olds.
One of the recommendations from the earlier report was that all
children should receive nursery education from the age of 3 and
today's report says: "By January 2002, 96% of 3 and 4-year-olds
were engaged in some form of early years education." And
it also shows improved GCSE passes. "Between 1996 and 2002
there was an 8% improvement [to 51.2%] in the number of 16-year-olds
gaining 5 or more A* or C grade passes at GCSE." But it adds
that "the gap in achievement is widening".
(The Independent, 12 December 2003)
Two-thirds of schools at the top of the first value-added league
tables for primaries also have test scored for 11-year-olds well
ahead of the national average. The tables identify low-scoring
schools doing well with deprived intakes. But the lack of such
schools in the top rank has led some to question whether value-added
tables are fair to schools in challenging circumstances.
The tables, which measure the progress pupils make between 7
and 11, have been published in response to complaints that unadjusted
or raw scores are unfair to schools with a high proportion of
poor children. But two-thirds of the top value-added primaries
have a combined score in English, maths and science which is at
least 30 points ahead of the national average. Critics say the
scores are still misleading because children's backgrounds influence
their rate of progress as well as their starting point.
(TES, 5 December 2003)
Sweeping changes in the way inspectors judge schools are needed
to stop unfair criticism of schools in deprived areas according
to Parliament's spending watchdog.
In a report on the exam performance of more than a million pupils,
the National Audit Office called for an overhaul of league tables
saying the use of raw scores as traditional tables were of "limited
value" in judging schools.
The NAO has produced its own measure for key stage 3 and GCSE
performance which takes account of pupil backgrounds in 3,100
English secondaries. One in 10 of the bottom 20% in 2002 should
have been rated among the top 20% it calculates.
The report warns that the Office for Standards in Education pays
too much attention to raw scores and not enough to pupil background.
Of the 72 schools in special measures during 2001/2, 78% were
ranked higher by the NAO at KS3 and 65% at GCSE. Seven years ago,
Chris Woodhead, the then chief inspector, stopped inspectors taking
more account of pupils' social background.
The auditor's report raises serious questions about the Government's
use of exam results as an indicator of school performance. Of
the 624 schools ranked in the bottom 20% of performers in KS3
tests, just 196 remained there when scores were adjusted for external
factors and 87% moved into the top 20%.
It also calls into question whether setting the same minimum
targets for schools and councils regardless of external factors,
is sensible or equitable. When external factors such as pupils'
previous attainment, social deprivation, ethnicity and gender
are taken into account, schools which appear at the bottom of
league tables are among the country's best, it found. Hackney,
Haringey, Islington, Lambeth and Southwark, five London authorities
normally judged as among the worst in the country, all perform
better than the national average at KS3. The five did less well
at GCSE, but only one, Haringey, appeared in the auditor's list
of the lowest performing authorities.
The NAO called for the Government to make adjusted results the
key measure of school performance. Paul Dimblebee, manager of
the study, admitted that the NAO's measure was not perfect: "It
is not possible at the moment to take account of all external
factors such as parental occupation and education level…
But just because the Government has gone one step along the path
with value-added does not mean they should not take more."
The Department for Education and Skills said the Government already
publishes more sophisticated information alongside raw test scores.
For the first time this year value-added measures will be included
in all three tables - primary, key stage 3 and GCSE/post 16. Ofsted
said it would take the NAO's recommendations into account during
its consultations on inspection arrangements.
Making a difference: Performance of maintained schools in England
is available from www.tso.co.uk/bookshop
£10.75.
(TES, 28 November 2003)
Children who are taught in noisier classrooms can have their
performance cut by up to one third.
Although it has been known for years that classroom din, the
hum of traffic and aircraft noise can curb academic ability, Professor
Bridget Shield of South Bank University, has undertaken a study
to quantify the effects in primary schools with Professor Julie
Dockrell of the Institute of Education.
Even when social and economic factors were taken into account,
"significant negative relationships were found between noise
levels and SATs scores, that is, the higher the noise level, the
lower the SATs score," she said.
Although the team is still quantifying the effects, she estimated
that average school performance in SATs can fall by one third
as external noise rises by between 10 and 40 decibels. Schools
in areas of greater social deprivation had the higher external
noise levels. "This suggests that deprived children are doubly
disadvantages."
New legislation on the acoustic design of schools came into force
in July 2003 so that there is now a legal requirement for new
schools to meet exacting acoustic performance standards.
(Telegraph, 9 September 2003)
The proportion of U grades (fail) at GCSE in 2003 was the highest
for a decade, while those achieving or grade C or above increased
according to provisional results released at the end of August
2003.
The proportion of entries graded C or better rose slightly from
57.9 to 58.1%, the highest figure ever, while the percentage awarded
A or A* increased from 16.4 to 16.7. There was also a record number
of entries, at 5.7 million. But the proportion who passed - getting
grade G or better - fell from 97.9 - 97.6. This meant the proportion
of U grades rose from 2.1 to 2.4%.
The results will heighten pressure on the Government to help
the "underclass" leaving school with few qualifications.
(TES, 22 August 2003)
The provisional GCSE results for 2003 is 59.7% of candidates got
a C grade or better for English (girls scored 67.4% as opposed to
boys who scored 52.2%). 65.9% got a C or above for English literature
(girls scored 72.7% as opposed to boys who scored 58.7%).
(Source: DfES press release)
Results for seven and 11-year-olds have stalled, and targets that
seemed ambitious when they were announced appear almost theoretical
now. Overall results in English and maths across England for 11-year-olds
stayed the same as last year. In English, results went down in 37
council areas and up in 84.
Primary results have improved since Labour took office. On the key
measure, the proportion obtaining level four at key stage two, results
have improved since 1998 by 10% in English, 14% in maths and 18%
in science.
But for the last three years there has been little change (with
English results stuck at 75%) indicating that the standards and
effectiveness unit at the Department for Education and Skills
has yet to find the tools to fix the underachievement of a stubborn
but substantial minority of primary children.
David Miliband, school standards minister, held his nerve and
said: "I don't believe the answer is a barrage of new initiatives."
The percentage of boys obtaining the expected level of seven-year-olds
is 8% behind girls in reading and 11% behind in writing. There
is criticism of the Government, not because it has missed targets
but because the targets are there at all.
(Guardian, 20 August 2003)
While pupils in Wales and Northern Ireland celebrate an increase
in A level passes in 2003, their counterparts in Scotland have
seen pass rates drop.
A level results in Wales and Northern Ireland are once again higher
than those in England. According to the Joint Council for General
Qualifications, Welsh candidates achieved an overall pass rate
of 96.4% compared with 95.4% in England. The Welsh rate is an
increase of 0.6% on 2002. In Northern Ireland, the pass rate was
97.2%, an increase on 96.4% in 2002.
In Scotland, fewer candidates passed their Higher exams than in
previous years. In 2003 69.6% of candidates achieved the required
standard, compared with 69.7% in 2002 and 71.9% in 2001. The drop
was particularly pronounced in the Higher English exam, passed
by only 59.2% compared with 64.7% in 2002. Peter Peacock, Scottish
Executive education minister, said he would review the structure
of the exam, which had been changed this year to incorporate more
external assessment.
(TES, 15 August 2003)
Head teachers will back the National Union of Teachers in a campaign
to get rid of national curriculum tests for seven-year-olds.
David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of
Head Teachers, said: "We do not believe the key stage one
tests are desirable." He added, "I think the key stage
one test is the big issue.
"Our members are against key stage one testing. They are
against public testing of children at that age. They ask quite
legitimately why it is they can do without it in Northern Ireland,
Scotland and now Wales.
(The Independent, 2 May 2003)
The SATs tests at the end of key stage 1 in England should be abolished,
say the Liberal Democrats, after a survey they commissioned found
that more than half of all seven-year-olds experience stress as
a result of taking them.
The majority of parents and teachers questioned said they were opposed
to the tests, while no teacher said they believed they are good
for their pupils. Common stress symptoms they reported in the children
included anxiety, misbehaving, lack of interest in school, difficulty
sleeping and mood swings.
The survey was sent to 147 schools in England, and teachers and
parents of children in Years 2 and 3 were invited to respond. It
found high incidences of stress among young children following their
SATs, with 38% of parents of Year 3 children believing their child
to be stressed and Year 2 children particularly stressed just before
and during the summer term, when the SATs are taken.
But some teachers blamed the children's stress on their parents'
pressure to succeed. The survey also found that more than twice
as many parents as children were anxious about the tests. One parent
remarked, "I feel it is the parents' responsibility - a 'keep
up with the Joneses' mentality. Childhood is not just about education
in the academic sense, rather a learning ground for life."
In 2002 a survey carried out by the National Union of Teachers found
more than nine out of ten teachers supported a boycott of SATs for
seven-year-olds.
(Nursery World, 16 January 2003)
The BBC News story "Too many tests demoralise pupils" reports
on educational research that suggests that repeated testing may
discourage some children, leading to poor motivation, reduced
effort and lower results. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2518379.stm
target=_blank
(December 2002)
Pupils in England could be losing more than a year of secondary
teaching because of the time taken to prepare for and sit exams.
At William Farr School in Lincoln, students are out of lessons
for up to 46 weeks in the course of their seven-year secondary
careers. The school year is 38 weeks.
(TES, 12 July 2002)
Test results for 14-year-olds are to be included in the 2002
league tables. This will increase the pressure on secondary schools.
The first key stage 3 targets are due to be met in 2004: 75% of
teenagers are supposed to achieve the expected level for their
age (level 5) in English, maths and ICT, and 70% in science.
(TES, 3 May 2002)
Professor Tim Brighouse, Birmingham's Chief Education Officer,
who was described as "inspirational" in an Ofsted report on Birmingham's
schools, called for the scrapping of primary league tables in
their present form, at a lecture at the Royal Society of Arts.
He said they should be replaced by a ratings system, which would
take account of other aspects of a primary school as well as simply
the three Rs.
He says that the obsession with how primary school children do
in tests for 11-year-olds has had a demotivating effect on children.
In addition there is a danger of schools concentrating on those
pupils who can just make the required standard if they make a
great deal of effort. This could happen at the expense of those
who are struggling.
A ratings system could counteract some of these pitfalls. It
could take into account a school's social background - possibly
be measuring the improvement in pupil performance between the
baseline assessments taken on entry into schools and the national
curriculum tests when they are about to leave.
(Independent, 18 April 2002)
Cornwall is the only local authority to rebel against the Government
in England's attempts to impose new "challenging" national test
targets. School chiefs in the county have refused to set heads
what they believe are unrealistic goals. By 12 April 2002 Government
and council officials had failed to reach an agreement.
Cornwall education director Jonathan Harris said: "I am not prepared
to send my advisers out to have discussions with headteachers
about targets they know cannot be achieved. It is demotivating
for staff and teachers. We are prepared to talk about realistic
targets but there is a deafening silence from the DFES."
The National Association of Headteachers analysis of the 2004
targets versus the 2001 results shows the struggle facing some
authorities in meeting their targets. In Bradford, the proportion
of 11-year-olds making the grade in English will have to improve
by 22%.
NAHT members have been told to ignore the controversial milestones
and work to their own realistic targets.
(TES, 12 April 2002)
The Government in England will be publishing league tables of
the results of tests for 14-year-olds for the first time this
autumn. This is designed to put pressure on schools to reach new
targets of 75% of all youngsters reaching the required standard
in English and maths (level 5) by 2004.
(TES, 4 April 2002)
England's chief education inspector Mike Tomlinson has warned
that measures to show how schools have helped pupils' progress
could be too simplistic. The "value-added" measures will
be included for the first time for every secondary school in the
2002 league tables published in November 2002. A primary pilot
will also be included with a view to including the figure in the
primary league tables the following year.
The secondary data will include a measure of progress between
11 and 14, using national curriculum test results, and a further
measure of progress between 14 and GCSEs.
Many schools welcome the new information but there are fears
that the measures are as misleading as the raw results.
(TES, 29 March 2002)
The 2001 test results show very little improvement over last
year's results and in some cases results have fallen. However,
Anita Straker, who is leading the secondary literacy and numeracy
strategy, is confident the 2002 results will be the best ever.
She bases her confidence on the performance of pupils who will
sit the national tests next year, given their results in the optional
tests.
Test results - the first figure is for 2001, the second in
brackets is for 2000
Age 7
Reading 84 (83)
Writing 86 (84)
Spelling 75 (72)
Age 11
English 75 (75)
- Reading 82 (83)
- Writing 58 (55)
Age 14
English 64 (64)
(TES, 21 September 2001)
Scotland and England may move closer together over national testing
with movement coming from both countries. There are moves in Scotland
to strengthen 5-14 testing while England is exploring the Scottish
option of testing students when they are ready rather than at
fixed times. Able pupils are then encouraged to press ahead.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has reviewed assessment
in the national curriculum and is considering introducing automatic
marking and scanning to reduce teacher workload. Its advisers
believe that SATs (standardised assessment tests) have had little
impact on classroom performance.
(TESS, 14 September 2001)
A revolution in examinations and testing which would dramatically
increase teacher assessment and reduce external testing was proposed
this week by the Government's chief exam adviser in England Professor
David Hargreaves.
Hargreaves, who is chief executive of the Qualifications and
Curriculum Authority, told his organisation's annual conference
that the national curriculum had transformed teachers' understanding
of what is to be taught and learned and their competence to assess
what pupils achieve.
At the same conference Education Secretary Estelle Morris outlined
plans to end "the culture of leaving school at 16" and to introduce
an American-style graduation certificate which would recognise
achievement between the ages of 14 and 19.
The TES is inviting teachers to have their say on www.tes.co.uk.
(TES, 29 June 2001)
Wales is considering radical changes to the present system of
compiling and publishing secondary school league tables. The changes
are to be out to consultation in March 2001. The proposals are
yet to be finalised but it is understood there will be two preferred
options.
The first is to scrap the current arrangements. Instead parents
will visit or contact their local schools to get the results.
This is similar to approach already adopted for primaries and
is believed to be working well. The second option, preferred by
the minister would address criticisms levelled at existing league
tables. It proposes a value-added indicator to be added to the
tables showing how schools have progressed and how they compare
with the average for Wales.
(TES, 9 March 2001)
League tables will no longer be published in Northern Ireland
following consultation in which 75% of the 1,000 responses were
opposed to them. Instead, schools will supply exam results directly
to parents allowing schools to set their performance in the context
of information on the school.
Northern Ireland has published tables of results at key stage
2 and GCSEs since 1993, like England and Wales. The move brings
it in line with the Republic of Ireland which has banned their
publication.
See www.deni.gov.uk
for more information.
(TES, 12 January 2001)
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has launched an inquiry
into the way it polices A level standards because of the accusation
that standards have fallen. David Hargreaves, the new chief executive,
has appointed an international panel to question whether the authority
and the exam boards are ensuring that A levels do not get easier.
In 2000, 89.1% of results were A-E grades, up 12% on 1990, and
17.8% were A grades, up six points in a decade.
The panel's brief is to review quality assurance work by the
authority and exam bodies, and compare the work with international
practice. It will start work in February 2001 and issue a public
report by the end of the year.
(The Guardian, 12 December 2000)
Around 16,000 of England's 19,000 primary schools have gained
ground in their test scores over the last four years, with the
2000 results showing more progress. Almost three-quarters of pupils
reached the expected standards in the core subjects of English,
maths and science. In English, 75% achieved level four, up 4%
on last year. The previous year's rise was 5%.
Significantly, rates of improvement are higher in disadvantaged
areas. Results in the first 25 education action zones have risen
more than the national results.
The Government is committed to publishing tables that reflect
the different intakes of schools. The first "value-added" tables,
that measure the results of 11-year-olds against the scores they
gained at seven, are likely to be trialled in 2002, with full
tables published the following year. However, academics are concerned
that the data are not yet sufficiently accurate to make value-added
comparisons.
(TES, 8 December 2000)
About 70,000 more children than in 1998 transferred to secondary
school having reached their target level in English. Prime Minister
Tony Blair noted in his speech to new headteachers that the lowest
performing area now produces better results in mathematics and
English than the average authority did four years ago.
(The Times, 7 December 2000)
Individual primary school results are not published in Scotland,
Wales or Northern Ireland.
Performance tables showing individual schools' exam results may
be abolished in Wales next year, according to Jane Davidson, the
new Welsh minister for education and lifelong learning.
Ms Davidson will be consulting on this in the new year and expects
the changes to be in place in time for next year's publication
of results in November.
"We now need to reflect on whether they are the most effective
means of putting this information in the public domain, not least
because they measure performance in terms of external exam results,
and do not recognise year-on-year improvement in schools," she
said.
(TES, 1 December 2000)
Almost half the pupils taking GCSEs this year achieved the Government's
benchmark of five or more A* to C passes it was announced yesterday.
The proportion of pupils with five good passes increased to 49%
from 47.9% last year and 45.1% in 1997, reflecting another strong
performance by girls.
The gap between girls and boys was 10.6%, the same as last year,
with 43.8% of boys achieving five or more good grades, compared
to 54.4% of girls. The education department figures for pupils
who were 15 at the start of the 1999-2000 academic year show the
Government is on track to reach its target of 50% of these achieving
at least five A* to C grades by 2002.
(The Telegraph, 13 October 2000)
David Blunkett announced at a fringe meeting at the September
Labour Party conference that value-added secondary school performance
tables will be piloted next September and introduced nationally
in 2002.
From 2002 league tables will show which schools have given students
the greatest boost in performance in the early years of secondary
school and also during GCSE courses. The tables will show how
pupils' results changed by comparing test results taken at the
end of primary school with test scores taken by the same pupils
three years later as 14-year-olds.
If the secondary value-added tables are a success they will be
extended to primary schools two years later to show pupils' progress
achieved between tests at seven and tests at 11.
(TES, 29 September 2000)
New research suggests that the higher English and maths scores
are down to genuine higher standards and not lax marking or easier
papers. Work carried out by the National Foundation for Educational
Research and Dr Mike Treadaway of the Fischer Family Trust, has
found that the level of difficulty has remained consistent over
the past four years.
(TES, 22 September 2000)
England: The GCSE results for England saw the highest
proportion of A*-C grades awarded ever plus an increase in the
number of A*-Gs, though the pass rate overall fell slightly. 2.1%
ended in failure compared with 2% in 1999.
56.6% of entries received at least a C grade, an increase of
0.9% on 1999. Both girls' and boys' results improved but girls'
results are improving more rapidly. 61.1% of girls achieved a
C grade or above, compared with 51.9% of boys. 5.6% of girls gained
gained A* compared with 3.7% of boys.
All the emphasis is on the C grade watershed. John Dunford, general
secretary of the Secondary Heads Association said: "Schools get
no credit for turning a B into an A or an F into an E. The Government
needs to recognise all achievement."
Scotland: The delay in the Scottish exam results continues.
By 25 August 400 Highers results had still not been sorted
out, they should have been ready by 10 August.
Standard Grade, the Scottish equivalent of GCSEs should have
been out on August 14. Because of the mix up in the exam results,
these will now be issued on 4 September following a recheck.
Wales: Welsh youngsters continue to outperform their English
counterparts with a 97.9% A*-G pass rate, the same as last year.
More Welsh students got higher-grade passes this year with 59.8%
of entries resulting in A*-C grades, 0.6% up on 1999. A*-C passes
in Welsh as a first language increased by 3% to 69.7% but Welsh
as a second language passes were down 2%.
Northern Ireland: This year's results were the best ever
with a higher proportion of top grades. However, these are not
the results for all students in Northern Ireland but only for
those who sit GCSEs with the province's exam board, the Council
for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment. 6,5% of these
received A* grades, an increase of 0.9 points. The UK average
is 4.6%. The board's failure rate is marginally above the UK average
at 2.2%. 71.3% of entries resulted in a C grade, slightly up on
last year.
(TES, 25 August 2000)
11-year-olds SAT's result in England have increased by a further
4% in English bringing the total up to 75% of pupils reaching
the expected standard (Level 4). This means the Government is
on target for its 2002 goal of 80%. The previous year's increase
was 6%. Progress was greatest in reading with the percentage of
children reaching Level 4 up by 5% to 83%, and in writing up 1%
to 55%.
- More ambitious goals for raising literacy standards are yet
to be announced but it is thought that higher targets will feature
in Labour's manifesto for the next general election. A spokesman
for DfEE said that ministers will announce new targets for 11-year-olds
in literacy and numeracy "in due course". It has also been suggested
that schools and teacher unions will not be consulted about
the new targets before they are set. John Bangs, assistant
general secretary of the National Union of Teachers said, "Schools
are not likely to be willing to work to targets they do not
own or they have not been consulted about".
(TES, 28 July 2000)
Welsh secondary schools will miss the Government's standards
targets for their 14-year-olds unless they speed up their rate
of improvement, according to Susan Lewis, Wales chief inspector
of schools.
Between 70% and 80% of 14-year-olds in Wales are expected to
reach level 5 or better in maths, science and English or Welsh
by 2002.
But without faster progress only the Welsh target will be met,
says Miss Lewis.
This year's annual report finds more good work in primary schools
than last year while, in secondary and special schools,
standards have
only been maintained. Literacy and numeracy are satisfactory or
better in more than 90% of primaries but writing and numeracy
are
weaker than reading or oral work.
The Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools
in Wales 1998-99 is available frm Stationery Office bookshops,
price
£13.
(TES, 10 March 2000)
The number of schools with improved results has increased substantially
with 65% of primary schools in England getting higher scores in
English than last year. The government intends to spend £170
million on literacy and numeracy next year including £48m
on booster classes to give pupils out-of-hours help for the tests.
A number of schools said they found the booster classes for Year
6 particularly effective.
(TES, 10 December 1999)
Councils with pupils from similar social backgrounds are producing
widely different scores at GCSE according to an analysis by the
TES of exam league tables. This shows huge variations in education
authorities with apparently similar levels of deprivation. The
difference in some cases amounts to the equivalent of two top-grade
GCSEs for each pupil.
(TES, 3 December 1999)
Efforts to boost educational standards in Britain's poorest regions
are being hampered by high pupil turnover, a government-funded
study concludes.
One in seven councils told researchers that they had schools where
a third of pupils left and were replaced in a single year while
one, unidentified school, lost more than 40 % of its pupils each
year.
A fifth of local education authorities believe the constant movement
of pupils damaged the work of one or more of their schools.
The interim findings of the study, jointly funded by the Department
for Education and Employment and the Nuffield Foundation, are
likely to increase pressure on the Government to allow education
funding to reflect pupil mobility.
At present, central government grants to councils take into account
how many pupils are eligible for free school meals and the numbers
using ethnic minority support services in schools, but not pupil
turnover.
Pupil mobility can also have a major impact on league table places.
Earlier this year, the London Borough of Hackney suggested its
high turnover of primary-aged pupils could have cost it 34 places
in the table of local authority results. A study by its
officers showed that settled pupils who stay at the same school
from Reception to Year 6 did significantly better than the borough
average.
In September, the Government launched a scheme to track individual
pupils' achievement from school to school, using identity numbers
and computer records.
(TES, 29 October 1999)
Over 35,000 teenagers (6.1%) left school in 1999 without a single
GCSE pass. This is an improvement on the 6.6% who left in 1998
without any passes.
(TES, 15 October 1999)
Nick Tate, the Chief Executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority, argues that performance tables for primary schools
and the literacy and numeracy strategies introduced by ministers
to guide teachers are boosting achievement.
He points out there is still some way to go particularly in improving
the performance of boys and in raising writing standards. Dr Tate
says the structure of the tests must remain unchanged until 2002
because of the Government's targets but that after that there
may be a need to redesign the tests. If a large number of pupils
start reaching Level 5 (Level 4 is currently the expected level
of achievement for 11-year-olds) they might introduce separate
tests to assess children at Levels 2, 3 and 4 and another test
for the majority of pupils to assess Levels 5, 6 and 7.
Dr Tate finds the lack of improvement in the SAT's for 14-year
olds disturbing and accuses secondary schools of not taking them
seriously. He believes a literacy strategy for 14-year-olds should
now be on the agenda.
(Independent, 16 September 1999)
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