Testing Testing Testing…

On the day that our children finally stop taking tests, exams and modules for a month or two. I would like to take a moment to bewail the fact the our young people are the most tested in Europe. I know this to my cost, we have teenage children, I teach teenagers. My life, in the past few years has been one long examination. I have taught well on 1000 teenagers to get their AS and A Levels, that means seven months of teaching, marking and mocking and then they are entered for the exam – what bright spark in our beloved government decided that we should run AS Levels before the A2 Levels beats me. The AS students have one more year in what used to be called sixth form. They could take their exams a month or so later and not get their results until September but no, they take their exams earlier and receive their results in August for the universities to do what with precisely? This leaves them at a loose end for the second half of the summer term. Teachers fill the time, with tasters, homework and enrichment – the students head for Newquay. I would object except that I know they’re knackered. The average pupil of 18 has done SATs at 7 (reading, writing and a little number stuff). The SATs at 11 along with a variety of surreptitious tests designed to identify their level of intelligence. Then again in Year 9, proper external tests – reading, writing, science and maths. From year 10 they will do coursework, individual modules, early GCSE’s which can lead to anything between 9 (or none) and 13 GCSEs, by the end of Year 11. Then 4 maybe 5 AS Levels and 3 A Levels and maybe one more AS Level That means that they are taking exams 7 years out of the 13 they at school if they stay for A Levels – although recently the SATs at 7 are being revised. This is just our experience – others do more, others do less and some give up. Even when they’ve done with the exams there’s the driving test – 50 questions, Hazard Perception and that’s before the test itself and still our insurance premiums are still as high. Our children work hard. This year those taking AS and A Levels will find the system changed again, teachers are re-writing the syllabus and once again we will race to get our students through their tests but as for educated – I don’t think so.