I am sick to the back teeth of the reductionist,
box-ticking, curriculum-narrowing, enthusiasm-crushing, soul-destroying,
high-stakes Exam Factory culture that hangs, like a dark oppressive cloud of
broken dreams, over our schools and our children’s education.
OK. That may seem a little strong but, if like me, you are a
primary school teacher, or have a child in primary school, I suspect you know
where I am coming from.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not opposed to assessment. How could
I be? It is at the very heart of what I do as a teacher. I assess children’s
learning from the moment they enter my classroom at 8.40am until I finish my
marking at 11pm. I assess through targeted questioning during whole class
teaching, through in depth discussion during independent and group work. I
assess through marking written work, and taking notes of oral work and
contributions to discussion. I probe children’s understanding, looking for
misconceptions through which to take learning forward. And yes, I assess
through setting and marking tests when that is the most effective way of
gathering the information I need.
