Page 46


Letters


 


SATs – the debate continues


After much deliberation, I supported the boycott because the ballot came out in favour of action and because:


• I believe that high-stakes, narrow testing must end.


• I want to be part of developing a broader, more innovative assessment framework.


• I believe in the adage ‘If you are not part of a solution you are part of the problem’.


• Professor Alexander of the Cambridge Review said “children will not learn to think for themselves if their teachers are expected merely to do as they are told”. I agree.


• It is time teachers were trusted to do the job without infernal interference.


I feel proud our school made a stand. The senior leadership have been totally supportive and teaching staff have agreed with our stance. This consensus was gained through professional dialogue rather than union rhetoric, which did not strike a chord with many head teachers.


Like many schools involved, our Year 6 children have sat past SATs tests. A compromise, I admit, but it will have to do, particularly as there is no robust or enlightened assessment alternative to adopt at present.


My hope is that senior leaders and primary teachers will be encouraged to explore other forms of assessment and to question their purpose. SATs tests for seven- as well as 11- year-olds represent the tip of a toxic iceberg. But getting rid of them without substantial reform will do no more that put a plaster on a gaping wound.


Karen Hammond Head teacher, Mellor Community Primary, Leicester


 


Although I commend the brave actions – notwithstanding the legal implications – taken by a significant number of schools in boycotting the latest SATs, I cannot help but think we are in danger of throwing away opportunities for the sake of political expediency.


When SATs and the National Curriculum were introduced, I could see the more productive use of standard assessment material. How wonderful to have a relatively objective body to set an exam to test the skills, knowledge, facts and concepts expected of pupils at that stage of their educational life.


In hindsight, I was naïve about the scheme’s intentions. I thought the results could be used as a diagnostic tool to aid assessment of the gaps in our schemes of work. That was not the real agenda.


However, by reacting wholeheartedly against the principles of such assessment we are culpable of ‘throwing out the baby with the bath water’. Why not try to develop a system that puts the pupil at its centre and the summative results used in a more peripheral role?


We cannot renounce, in its entirety, a scheme that has been adopted and tolerated for 20 years, without claiming it must have some redeeming features.


Clive Gammon Walsall






I am strongly against ten- and 11-year-olds doing SATs as I do not think they show children’s best abilities.


On the day of exams children get very nervous before they even get to school. If the child is intelligent but scared, they will probably get a low mark in their test. Children sometimes miss questions out because they are not able to concentrate.


Some children could have family problems which could make them angry or upset on the day of the test. Some people absolutely hate doing tests and would much prefer not to do them at all.


I think all children should be assessed on the work they do throughout the year and not just on a 45-minute test. This would be a much better way and would show how children are doing in each subject.


Amy Year 6 pupil, Wakefield






Thank you for boycotting SATs. Lots of children’s stress has been taken away and we are now able to learn a few more lessons rather than doing practice tests and completing past papers.


I would like to know whether this will happen again next year or not?


Ellie Year 6 pupil, Enfield


The NUT is working with sister union ATL on a project looking at the future of assessment. Watch the website www. teachers.org.uk for details.






Redressing the balance


Having just read Tamsin Edwards’ letter (The Teacher, June) I feel compelled to write to redress what she said on the work-life balance issue.


I am coming to the end of my May half-term break and have spent this holiday entirely with my young family, in the same way as Tim Clifton might (‘Your letters’, April/May).


My philosophy is ‘work to live’ NOT ‘live to work’. It worries me to think of all the unnecessary planning carried out by some teachers. The constant reinventing of the wheel; always being expected to go above and beyond.


Tamsin’s letter mentions Easter revision sessions. Surely these are unnecessary. To me, this seems like ‘spoon feeding’ our students, absolving them of responsibility for their own learning. Tamsin also admits “my own children suffer for the sake of others’”. I could never say that. My own children always come first.


What is wrong with reusing material and approaches that have worked well in the past? Or sharing resources and experiences with colleagues to improve both your teaching and work-life balance? There’s always a way to incorporate the new ‘initiatives’ without beginning again.


Personally, I look forward to mostly free evenings, weekends and a fantastic holiday entitlement. After a typical intense day at school, we’ve earned it!


Alex Knill Yorkshire






In reference to Tamsin Edwards’ and Tim Clifton’s letters, I have also been teaching for 18 years (modern foreign languages) and feel one of the advantages teachers have is that they become very well versed in what they do. I have planned some of my best lessons while sunbathing on a beach, without pen or paper and most certainly without a laptop. I hardly ever take books home. Books can be marked at school if you work through lunch. Isn’t that time management?


The comment about being ‘outstanding’ also worries me. No amount of planning will make you outstanding. You either are, or you are not, but ‘outstanding’ is not out of reach for most teachers and can be learnt by watching the right people.


Yes, it does get easier but I don’t ‘cut corners’ and feel no guilt. I give 100 per cent when at school and 100 per cent to my family at home. Life is too short for any other arrangement.


There are many kinds of teachers and some don’t spend their holidays slaving over ‘schemes of work’. They fit this into term time, even if it means staying up late. This does not


 


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