A day of action against SATS

[bodsier]

In my opinion, it doesn't go far enough and should include compulsory academies.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/thousands-of-parents-to-take-children-out-of-school-in-protest-over-stressful-exams-a7006666.html

[uncleglen]

They've got Thursday off- why don't they do their 'creative outdoor learning' then?

[gillandjoe]

ummmmm, because it wouldn't be a very effective strike if the school is already closed to pupils all day?

[uncleglen]

As a parent I always felt that it was my responsibility to do the 'creative outdoor learning' evenings, weekends and holidays. My own experience of primary school was one of mostly academic work, i.e. the 3 Rs, some singing, PE now and again, but mostly comprehension, non-verbal and verbal reasoning, and a lot of heavy- duty numeracy- in a competitive atmosphere -and there was no let-up at weekends because at home our relatives relentlessly tested us.

[minder]

So what Southwark schools are taking action tomorrow?

There might be some parents who don't mind their children taking the tests.

What do their teachers think about kids not turning up?

[bodsier]

The schools are not taking action, the parents are, those that don't mind won't be keeping their kids away on that day. Some teachers don't like what's happening to the school education system, what they think of this particular course of action? I don't know. You would have to ask them.

[LondonMix]

I'd really like to hear the perspective of somebody who supports this boycott.

I think there is a lot wrong with the government's approach to education but I find this campaign unclear.

Reading about it, I can't tell if they don't like tests in general or if they simply don't like the form or difficulty level of the current tests?

Standardized tests help monitor pupil progress and keep schools accountable for progressing children adequately so I personally support standardized tests.

However, when testing should start and what balance of subjects there should be in the curriculum is more debatable in my view but there doesn't appear to be any coherent proposal being put forward about those issues.

[DuncanW]

I would imagine most parents would support the tests.

As a parent, I certainly want to know how well, or not, my children are progressing.

I also want to know how well the school is doing.

And I think the first round of testing has to be when they are quite young (6/7 being about right) so progress/value add can be measured for both the school and the child.

[????]

Don't inoculate/vaccinate our kids

don't test our kids

...same Luddism from the usual suspects in my opinion

[LondonMix]

As an aside, I don't think children should be entirely sheltered from dull tasks (I don't mean when they are super young but just in general).

So much of having a good work ethic is developing the discipline to concentrate and do what at times is dull work. Learning to feel a sense of reward from completing a task because its worth doing rather than because the task itself is fun is an essential life skill. Not developing these habits early on just stores up a very rude awakening when its time to enter the real world.

I already see some of the fall out with young millennials entering the workforce now. Its not just work though- tons of aspects of being an adult are dull: preparing taxes, budgeting, setting up your savings and pension, organizing repairs, picking your insurances deal etc. Good god, just writing that list filled me with a bit of despair...

[Saffron]

Scroll down for some interesting pros and cons: http://standardizedtests.procon.org/#background

[nunheadmum]

I'm not against SATs per se and I think a lot of the pressure that schools convey about them comes from parents looking at league tables because we want the 'best' school for our kids and hence schools are scared to drop down the table or have a less than good OFSTED. If we want to be able to compare schools, and the government want to be able to easily compare performance, exam results are an easy way to do that. (Even if it's less than perfect.) Some schools are good at doing the tests without getting the kids stressed and good at covering the curriculum without making it seem like they're teaching to the test.

But I think the article below by Michael Rosen gets to the crux of the current problem - the material being covered, particularly in English, is presented in a particularly technical way and the marking schemes are incredibly harsh. The new curriculum was also brought in quite quickly without giving kids time to catch up before they're being tested against it. And there was little clarity for teachers about how to grade pupils against the curriculum levels.

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/may/03/morgan-sats-test-children-primary-school-pupils

Sadly I don't think a lot of the coverage today necessarily got to the real heart of the problem and has come across as middle-class parents worrying about their comfortable kids. Which is a shame.

[Jules-and-Boo]

I don't have a problem with tests in school. My daughter's doing her SATS now.

I don't think taking children out of school in protest is a good lesson for them - that will just teach them if they don't want to do something, they don't have to.

General problems at our school are

1) bullying - and ineffective methods of addressing it - largely from teachers being too busy/ denial and refusal to do anything by the relevant parent

2) general lack of discipline - unruly children disrupting classes

3) classes too large

4) changes of curriculum

5) lack of parental involvement (how many parents support the PTA?

In a healthy environment, all children will learn. Tests are essential as life is not without pressures and competition.

Unfortuntately, the schools have to conform to government gudelines which is where detachemnt comes from....

Teachers hsouldn't have to struggle as much as they do - and should be supported.

I think our school does well, despite having restrictions, too many targets, too many kids, too littel support.....