|
|
 |
| |
Lucy Anderson |
ALL CHILDREN FACE TEST FOR SECONDARIES
Education chiefs accused of pandering to UCL over banding
EVERY child in Camden faces sitting a test to decide which secondary school they will go to.
The “aptitude assessments”, which have been likened to an IQ test, are designed to group primary school pupils by their potential. Camden’s comprehensive secondary schools will then share children from the different bands of ability.
The idea is for all schools to take children of all abilities.
But the flipside is that they will not be restricted to taking pupils from nearby streets. It means the UCL Academy, which is set to open in Swiss Cottage within the next two years, will not be made to take children from its immediate neighbourhood and can offer places instead to high-achieving youngsters from miles away, even from other parts of London.
The plans, which will be discussed in September, have already created a divide between schools across Camden – with some governors praising the principles of banding and others urging caution.
Fiona Millar, vice chairwoman of Campaign for State Education (CASE), said: “Every child will have to take a test. Based on their ability they will be put into bands. Schools will then have to take an equal share from each band.
“What we need to see is more precise details, about the size of the bands for example, before we can say whether this is a good thing or not. What is important is that all schools must work under the same system – but that cannot be guaranteed with voluntary aided schools and academies.”
Banding has recently been introduced in Lewisham and Greenwich in a bid to tackle the pattern of richer families buying up houses around the most successful schools.
But there hadn’t been a mention of it in the Town Hall chamber in Camden until University College London, who as sponsors of the borough’s first independently run academy are the new face on the borough’s educational landscape, called for it in a public debate in October.
Union chiefs argue the changes are being “driven by” academy chiefs. Andrew Baisley, of Camden NUT, said: “It feels as if Camden is changing the whole system to match what UCL wanted.”
A spokesman for UCL said yesterday (Wednesday): “We have committed ourselves to aligning our admissions policy with that of Camden’s community schools and we would welcome the introduction of banding, as we believe it is the best means of ensuring that the intake of the school is as comprehensive as possible.”
With academy status, there is no way of holding UCL to a universal system and, as an independent sponsor, it could pull out at any time and choose its own policy.
Lucy Anderson, a governor at Acland Burghley School, said: “In an ideal world, banding would work – but only if everyone did it. There is no guarantee of that here and that is why I have serious concerns about it.
“UCL say they will ‘align’ themselves with Camden, but it must be absolutely identical, and set down in a formal statement.”
She added: “For parents, the banding scores are very difficult to monitor. I would say this needs to be independently monitored. And in any case, testing children at such a young age is a real issue. Children develop hugely between 11 and 14.”
Ed Fordham, the Lib Dems parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn, who is a governor at Hampstead School, welcomed the proposals.
He said: “Hampstead is supporting banding because we think it will be good for our pupils. Camden has for too long pretended that its results are good – but too many pupils are leaving school without proper qualifications.
“Banding is one way of raising standards and aspirations. Pupils are assessed anyway all the way through school, from 4 to 18. To say that this is about forcing children to sit exams is a huge misrepresentation of what is happening.”
Jim Mulligan, a governor at Haverstock, said: “I can’t really speak for Haverstock on this, but in my own personal experience, banding has worked.
“There is no chance of a school creaming off the best pupils. But that was because every school was working under the same system.”
Cllr Andrew Mennear, the council’s education chief, said: “This isn’t some really horrible notion – we just want to offer greater assurance to families about the intake of schools.
“The notion behind it is to assure parents their pupils will be going to a school with similar academic abilities.
“This is one of the reasons why Camden parents are not sending their children to the nearest school.”
He added: “We have been discussing this since 2006 – it formally began in 2007. this is not being driven by UCL.
“All the way through this all I have heard is that UCL want to work with Camden’s family of schools. We are lucky to have a major institution and an academy that wants to play ball with the local authority.”
The results will be presented to Camden’s cabinet in December when a decision will be made on whether to carry out a formal consultation.
Different classes: Aptitude test guide
Question 1) What’s the difference between an exam, a SATs test, and aptitude assessment?
Under a banding system, the school youngsters go to is determined by an aptitude test. SATs are tests used to rank primary schools in league tables. Children sit exams if they are trying to go to private school.
Question 2) Why are aptitude assessments being used for banding admissions?
Aptitude assessments, thought to be the “fairest kind of test” for Year 6 children, are designed to give an idea of how a child might develop in secondary school. The council describe them as “non-verbal reasoning” or, in plain English, a test without reading or speaking.
Children will be asked to sort shapes into groups, and react to diagrams and pictures in a timed exercise.
Question 3) What if I do badly on the day?
Children may end up in the bottom band. Some critics say the disappointment could harm a child’s self-esteem and even stunt their development. The council argue that children are regularly tested throughout their school life – so what’s the harm a few more hours under the microscope? Reviewing results is tricky and some believe the tests should be marked independently, and not by teachers in the school. |
 |
|
|
|
Your comments:
I think a child could be more harmed the day he-she discovered that doesnt fit ironically no even the school. So as the general awareness about the importance of earlier education increases i suggest to consider the very little amount of homework children have, before step into a new task such as no verbal reasoning tests. Then, off course verbal or no verbal reasoning could be experimented in a few schools as a test for the others.
Adele
|
| |
|
|
|
