Exams test schools, not pupils

I have found an interesting "sub-text" listening to Radio 4's PM programme this evening. This was providing prominent coverage of the announcement by the Secretary of State for Education, Ed Balls, that end of Key Stage tests for 14 year olds will be discontinued immediately. These tests, taken in maths, English and science, have been taken by pupils at a kind of mid-point between entry into secondary school and GCSE examinations taken at age 16.

Why not end the external tests taken by pupils at age 10 as the come to the end of their primary education, just before transfer to secondary school? No, they are here to stay, because they are a valuable tool that allows parents and the local community to see how well primary schools in their area are performing. We can remove the tests at Key Stage 3 because they are not seen as providing useful information about the performance of the schools - GCSE and GCE A-level results are regarded as providing that information. This the response of the Secretary of State.

This does of course have an interesting consequence for schools. They will want the best test/examination results regardless of consideration for their pupils. If "spoon feeding" ups the results, spoon feed and thereby largely do the learning for the pupils (even though students who then progress to AS and A-level courses end up lacking the independence in learning needed for success at that level, certainly in Physics). Set up extra compulsory teaching after school (sorry, provide revision classes), regardless of the increased pressure that creates for staff and the fact that this involves a transfer of responsibility for learning from pupils to teachers.

And I thought that assessment was meant to be for the benefit of the pupils ..... Silly me.