Gove: schoolchildren should be subjected to regular tests
Pupils should be tested every year to stop them “drifting” between key stages of their education, Michael Gove said today.
Schools should assess pupils at regular stages because it helps children “instinctively” remember information and boosts their ability to perform complex tasks, it was claimed.
The Education Secretary insisted he was not advocating the introduction of new national tests beyond current compulsory exams at 11 and 16.
But he said schools needed to make greater use of internal assessment, adding: “If you have too long between the statutory assessments of children or young people, there is a chance that things may drift.”
He also suggested the current system in which schools are organised into four “Key Stages” – two at primary level and two at secondary school – could be axed to provide greater progression from year-to-year.
Mr Gove said some stages were too long, resulting in a “dip in the middle”.
The comments come amid continuing concerns over school standards in England.
Last year, more than a quarter of children finished primary education lacking a proper grasp of the three-Rs. Four-in-10 pupils also failed to gain five good GCSEs including the key subjects of English and maths at the age of 16.
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... (Daily Telegraph - 24 April)