A further need for Private Tutors? Baseline testing: necessary or ruthless?

February 19, 2016

• Topical

There are many things to consider when looking at reasons for Private Tutors, and often the growing pressures of a child’s education (such as with baseline testing) is one of them. There have been concerns over the suggestions for “baseline testing” of four and five year olds in their first few weeks in Reception, both by teachers and by concerned parents. The tests, which the government insists are not to be regarded as “formal testing”, will cover reading, writing and maths and the results will help to measure individual progress throughout the duration of primary school.

The tests arrived in some schools in September – only schools who have elected to introduce them – but there is concern that schools who disapprove of the tests will still buckle under the pressure and implement the testing system regardless of their objections. Headteachers may, for example, “adopt an approved test so they have a record of Reception children’s levels of attainment on entry to the school for when they take national tests at 11”. Particularly as secondary school places can be so competitive, Headteachers may not want to risk putting their pupils under any disadvantage.

At a recent government consultation discussing the baseline tests 57% of respondents present opposed them. The high level of opposition, for measures which have been supported by the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Labour parties, is due to the perception of the tests as “unreliable, harmful to children’s wellbeing and learning, and disruptive in the crucial early days of reception”. Teachers are deeply concerned over any form of pressure or testing to be imposed on such young children, especially at a time where their main concerns in school should be around interaction with other children and becoming comfortable with their new surroundings. Furthermore, there are worries that children will miss out on breaktimes and lunchtimes due to attending “coaching and cramming sessions” to enable them to score highly on the tests.

However, a Liberal Democrat spokesman believes that the issue does not lie in the tests themselves, but simply in the way that they have been represented. He insisted that the tests could ensure “proper credit [was given] to schools, often in disadvantaged areas, whose pupils achieve outstanding rates of progress while at the school” and that the tests represent a demand by parents to have constant proof of their child’s progress. Private Tutors can often aid this progress throughout a child’s time at school, often helping to alleviate the additional pressures that so much testing can cause.

It could be that these tests are as harmless and helpful as those who advocate them insist that they are. The tests could, indeed, ensure that pupils are given all the necessary support they need from the earliest age and could also offer reassurance to parents that their children are being cared for and that their progress is key. However, in  a time where there are increasing numbers of reports about the rise of anxiety and stress in children and adolescents, and many believe that education in the UK is implementing a “death by testing” regime, these baseline tests could be several steps backwards. The UK already has the most over-tested children in the developed world, which is something our Private Tutors see every day, and extra tests on top of those that already exist could be dangerous.

Progress and assurance that children will leave primary school as competent and confident individuals is as important as it has ever been, but many argue that this can be better achieved by allowing four and five year olds to develop naturally. Primary school teacher Sara Tomlinson has said that:

“Early years is like an oasis of child-centred learning where play is still a key focus. If we bring in formal testing in the first two weeks of education, it will just destroy the last bastion of where education is fun.”

What are your thoughts on baseline testing? Are the tests dangerous, or are they necessary given how competitive schooling has become? For more information on any of our Private Tutors based in London and what they can offer, contact us at Kings Tutors.

Written by Helena Roots