Tests and Examinations … and people power!

People Power 1

A Level Students are protesting about their Biology Unit 4 paper from AQA. Wading through the issues about the ’shrew’ and the sweary rants, there are some cleverly put and well-reasoned arguments about the content and quality of the paper.

The BBC have picked this up and it’s extended to the OCR examination which isn’t looking too clever either.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=search&gid=453647705494

What is really interesting is that no one is complaining about how hard it was and most of the students seem to have revised more than was asked of them. Its just that the examination appears poorly put together and limited in the range of topics it covered. I think its fantastic that students are that engaged in their learning and are pushing the exam boards to improve.

People Power 2

Teachers and Heads are being balloted on a strike of the National Tests at Key Stage 2. Kind of an old world protest next to our facebook friends but exercising people power all the same. As a parent and a publisher, I kind of like testing at the end of Primary school! However, it is great to see challenges being made to the status quo and the centralised approach to education that prevails today. And those challenges made by people who really know what’s going on (teachers and heads).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8479426.stm

More about Heppell.net

I mentioned in my last post that I had heard Stephen Heppell speak about the ‘new curriculum’ at BETT. What I didn’t mention was that I was a bit sceptical about the ‘vested interests’ especially exam boards wanting to hold onto a centrally driven testing and examination system. Stephen’s response was to describe how employability and ‘global standards’ rather than neat exam boxes were already opening up and that this was the way forward.

Appropriate testing (and really when ready – why 16 and 18?) is the future. Business, academia and an increasingly impatient younger generation are taking action and taking control of education which is a brilliant change from politicians doing it. Psychometric tests, Pre-U qualifications and student protests all working to put learning back into the hands of the people that it matters to.

I hope things snowball!

Filed under: Blog entries by ben