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Anguish over schools turmoil
P7 pupils ‘disadvantaged because of unregulated, unproven testing’
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
enlargeThe chaotic transfer process has caused bewilderment and anguish for parents and placed primary principals at the centre of a tug of war between the Education Minister and the grammar sector, it has been claimed.
David Todd, headmaster of Nettlefield Primary, is among the many principals backing our Sit Down, Sort It Out campaign.
He said that this year’s P7 pupils are being disadvantaged as they are “at the mercy of unregulated, unproven testing”.
“For years primary school principals have witnessed the distortion of the curriculum caused by the 11-plus transfer system and the look of devastation on the faces of young children rejected by the grammar school sector,” he said.
“Despite their desire for change, principals did not expect and do not welcome the ending of the former transfer system before an agreed and viable alternative has been put in place.”
Mr Todd went on to say: “Testing children when they are only 10 or 11 years old and using the results to allocate them to different schools, thereby influencing future life chances, is an arbitrary decision that most people would not see as grounded on common sense.
“The testing and selection of young people for grammar school does not stand up to statistical scrutiny when we consider the significant proportion of ‘rejected’ children who go through high school to later academic success at university level.
“We are entitled to wonder just what these ‘reject’ children would have achieved if they had been allowed to stay with, and compete with, their grammar school counterparts.”
He added: “Selection at 14 years of age, when pupils are more mature and have a clearer idea of the academic path they want to take in life, is a much preferred alternative to testing and labelling children in primary school.”
Meanwhile, the Association for Quality Education has written to the parents of more than 7,000 P7 pupils registered to sit its tests this autumn to give details on the scoring system which will be used.
Sign our Sit Down, Sort It Out petition online at belfasttelegraph.co.uk/petition
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PACE- I think you have hit the nail on the head , the parents who want an end to academic testing at 11 are those who are not confident that their child would win a place by this method so to eliminating the selection process they could get the place without any effort or competition. How convenient! Academic selection must continue in some formin order to give out the places in the schools most in demand and until "every school is a good schhool" it cannot be removed as over subscription to certain schools will continue and places must be awarded on merit.
Posted by rm | 05.11.09, 12:17 GMT
Angela,
Since you have declared anti-academic selection views you wil not have a difficulty with Minister Ruane's diktat. Your children will simply attend their nearest non-selective school. You cannot expect to obtain places for them at grammar schools. Since you came from a non-selective place this should not come as a shock or surprise. Could it be that you want grammar school places for your children without competition? Surely not?
Posted by Parental Alliance for Choice in Education | 02.11.09, 23:50 GMT
What a joke this farce is. It would be hilarous anywhere else except it fails the children here that 'adults' (?) cannot establish that 10 or 11 years of age is not prudent or beneficial to children. It is disgraceful to have children compete for selective education at this age. I have just returned to live here and wish I had stayed where I was as it affects my two children who are in the 'system' at present. Doesn't anyone in government have the childrens' interests at heart? What a joke Ms Ruane is also. If she were in private industry she would have been terminated long ago!
Posted by Angela Smythe | 02.11.09, 02:35 GMT
Paul,
The DENI CCEA and the Assembly were charged with replacing the 11-plus with a more valid and reliable instrument. Where is it? Are you seriously trying to promote the continued use of Incas when in the space of one week two apology press releases have been issued by CCEA and one by CEM for the failures and the Education Minister has demanded an enquiry into a system she vouched for? It is little wonder parents are stressed and have lost faith in education leaders and politicians.
Posted by Parental Alliance for Choice in Education | 30.10.09, 09:18 GMT
Would those who normally vote SF or SDLP feel strongly enough about this issue to switch their vote to the most pro 11+ party, ie the DUP?
I may be wrong but I don't think so. Maybe we need a one issue candidate for protest votes, perhaps a 10 year old could stand on a 'save my future' ticket.
Stephen
Posted by Stephen | 29.10.09, 11:33 GMT
Do not worry everyone. There is an election on the horizon.
Pay-back time! Go on get your own back.
Posted by pat | 28.10.09, 20:08 GMT
Agree with AQE comment in particular the literacy and numeracy emphasis. The Revised Curriculum has forced a downturn in this area bourne out by the reduction in KS2 levels achieved by P7 pupils. The row over the 11plus is acting as a smokescreen to the real damage being done to education. School are different because children are different. One size does not fit all at the same time and the success of children at secondary school bears this out. The only barrier to achievement is the constant tinkering in an attempt to engage those who are disaffected at the expense of the majority for whom both grammar and secondary work well.
Posted by teacher | 28.10.09, 17:04 GMT
How can anyone accept the scoring produced by Incas when no-one, including CCEA, have not seen any of the pupil data. I know that CCEA have not seen any pupil data because they confirmed in writing to me that they do not have access to Incas pupil data. To blindly accept the output from a piece of software without seeing the input is just plain madness. Emperor's clothing is truly applicable to Incas. It amazes me how so many educationalists and politicians can be so easily persuaded to accept 'computer adaptive' assessments based on nothing more than heresay. Is no-one prepared to take on the role of the little boy who proclaims 'The King is in the altogether now!'
Posted by L Saunders | 28.10.09, 16:36 GMT
What baffles me is why Sinn Fein would want to anger and alienate so many people from all political peruasions. They mounted a rather slick charm offensive to woo their way into government and then they appoint the most unpopular and inept Education Minister Northern Ireland has ever seen.
Talk about three steps forward and two back!
Posted by Centaur | 28.10.09, 16:04 GMT
For some reason certain elements in the government want to dismantle our Grammar system, despite the fact that it has proved itself more than adequate for all the pupils that have attend it over the years.
The real problem has been the stress and anguish caused to pupils who have had to sit the tests that decide whether or not they get to go to a grammar school. There is no doubt that the 11 plus tests need to be removed, but this should only have been done when some other means to measure a child's academic ability had been put in place.
Personally I believe that a measured record of a child's abilities taken over a number of years would be a much fairer approach - the InCAS scoring method brought in with the new curriculum in recent years would be an obvious candidate.
The current free-for-all over testing and what school you get to attend is a public fiasco and as a member of the Northern Ireland public I'm embarrassed by the whole nonsense that the MLAs have created.
Posted by Paul | 28.10.09, 13:53 GMT
Liam, what utter nonsense - the SDLP want to remove our Grammar schools as much as Sinn Fein. SDLP haven't listened to Catholic voters either - why are our Catholic Grammar schools so over-subscribed? Why are so many State Grammars taking in pupils from the Catholic community - because Catholics, Protestants and the rest want to send their kids to these schools. There is a demand for it - the people will hopefully remember this when it comes to the election and instead of a sectarian squabble, may well start to vote on real political issues such as education.
Posted by Paulo | 28.10.09, 12:58 GMT
What's wrong with voting for the Conservative Party, Liam? Now THAT would rock the boat!
Posted by WH | 28.10.09, 11:49 GMT
Any petition is a waste of time while Ruane is Education Minister.
Posted by Ed | 28.10.09, 09:37 GMT
The chaotic transfer process has caused predicted and deliberate bewilderment because of deregulation and withdrawal of the 11-plus. Any anguish for parents has been caused by the conflict of interest between teachers and primary principals who act as agents for the Minister and DENI in their anti academic selection views. Primary schools should limit their concerns to the teaching of the curriculum, especially numeracy and literacy, and keep their views on where a pupil transfers to private. If principals don't like the mess they have helped to create they should reflect upon their choosen role. Parental rights in education have always won out in the end. Those who don't want to attend grammar school are not compelled to take tests.
Posted by Parental Alliance for Choice in Education | 28.10.09, 08:46 GMT
ruane and the rest of the clowns have not grasped there own voters want this resolved, but sometimes an ego and a party needs to be remembered who votes for them, my advice give them a wake up call vote sdlp the party who listens
Posted by liam | 28.10.09, 06:15 GMT