Star comment - Stop messing around in education
Ever since politicians saw education as a fertile battleground the pupils and teachers have been cast in the role of pawns in political point-scoring games.
Against this backdrop, it is essential that when it comes to exams the youngsters are treated fairly with commonality in the way their achievements are judged.
The fact that over 45,000 students are to resit their English GCSEs next month is an indication that the politicians have been moving the goalposts in the background to such an extent that the system has fallen into disrepute.
They talk about postcode lotteries. To that, we can now add timescale lotteries. It is claimed that thousands of students who sat their English exam in June and got a D grade had achieved the same level of work as their fellow students who took the exams in January and received a C.
Consequently they have been unfairly punished based on when they took the exam, not for their work.
In England, they have had a double hit compared to their Welsh counterparts. In Wales the education minister ordered a regrading of the papers, and as a result nearly 2,400 Welsh pupils received better results.
It is easy for the older generation to forget the stress and anxiety that exams involve. Futures depend on them, and employers in that tough jobs market out there look to them to give an indication of the job candidates’ capabilities and knowledge.
Michael Gove is talking about shaking up the exams system. It will, he pledges, be all about raising standards.
Hooray to that. But if there are to be changes, one of the most refreshing would be to allow pupils, teachers, and exam boards to get on with it with the minimum of meddling, interference, and pressure which has played such a part in the current shambles.
Comments for: "Star comment - Stop messing around in education"
ajbc
Thank goodness, at least someone realises that constant change based on predjudice and dogma does more harm than good. That's not to say there aren't things that can't be improved but lets make sure something really works before insisting everyone one does it 'like this', lets makes sure changes are based on sound educational principles not 'well it didn't do me any harm'.
Well done
Robin Hood
The proposed shake-up of the exam system would bring back O' Levels or equivalent and going back to an exam-based system (he doesn't like course-work/continuous assessment) but for those children who don't make the grade, they will receive a certificate to say they have completed their education. That's it.
If you aren't good enough at academic subjects to get O' Levels (or if you don't have the kind of memory that sets you up for exam success) you will, effectively, leave school with no qualifications at all.
Not cause for celebration in my book, lots of kids "failing" school and on the scrap-heap because they don't have the few specific skills (passing academic exams) that Michael Gove/the DfE deems of value.
Miss Trunchbull
Sadly the "messing around in education" goes all the way from the top down to local level.
The games and political points-scoring that goes on in Telford & Wrekin with the Building Schools for the Future project is a complete joke (or at least it would be, if it wasn't our children's education and future which was at stake).
Two things that should most-definitely NOT come into education are politics and religion.
Professor Steve Molyneux
I wholeheartedly agree with the comments made by fellow readers. In fact Education would be far better served in the same way as Religion. It should be separated from the state and run purely by educationalist, and by educationalist I mean those who fully understand education and not politicians (local, regional or national) who believe that because they went to school that they understand it.
As for the BSF Programme. History will show this to be another White Elephant. Bettering education has NOTHING to do with shiny £35 million Academies. It is about providing good quality teachers who have the respect of pupils and parents, a curriculum fit of 21st century living, and an ethos of raising the aspirations of ALL pupils.
Yes, we need to provide goof buildings to achieve this but NOT at the expense of savings elsewhere. As a local resident, I offered my expertise Free of Charge to assist with the technology element of BSF - result NOTHING. Obviously civil servants, local politicians and corporate IT managers know better.
I eagerly await their results.