An article about over-testing in English schools:
The national testing system in English schools is being misused to the detriment of children’s education, says a report from a committee of MPs.
The Commons schools, children and families committee says teachers spend too much time “teaching to the test”.
“The inappropriate use of national testing could lead to damaging consequences,” warns the report.
Schools Minister Jim Knight welcomed MPs’ recognition that the “principle of national testing is sound”.
With hundreds of thousands of 11-year-olds in England taking “Sats” tests this week, the select committee report warns that the tests are being used in a way that does not benefit children or the schools system.
Of course, anyone who’s been to school or taught will know that too much testing is a sure way to kill what vestigial pleasure may be left in official education; and since schools will be evaluated according to the test results, teachers inevitably will focus their lessons on ‘how to pass the test’, a very very different thing to, well, learning anything real.
That, however, is not what’s disgusting here. i did a double-take at this line: “Schools Minister Jim Knight welcomed MPs’ recognition that the “principle of national testing is sound”.” What? The MPs criticise testing and the Schools Minister welcomes their ‘recognition’ that the ‘principle of national testing is sound’?
At this point the unbridgeable gulf between not merely Joe Street and the G, but even a committee of MPs and the G is pretty glaring. Since people like Jim Knight pay at best superficial attention to what the governed – or even a MP committee – think, why not just scrap parliament and revert to an absolute monarchy? What, exactly, would we stand to lose?
