Don't Test My 4 Year Old

[JamesEYFS]

Dear Parents

I've been lurking on Mumsnet for a little while but I think I may finally have something interesting to say.

I'm a teacher and a parent, in September I will be forced to conduct a baseline test with children new to school. The test is not for me or your child! It is there to generate data that the government and DfE are yet to make clear how they will use.

I, like many other teachers, academics and parents, feel that is wrong. If you do not wish your child to sit this test in September it is important to inform your new school as soon as possible. I've written an example letter/email in my blog post below.

www.jameseyfs.com/blog-1/don-t-test-my-4-year-old

I hope it's useful. I'd love to hear from you if you get a reply from your school!

But we are straying here.

This is all about consent. Do you consent to this being done to your child in September? If not, my letter is a good starting point.

www.jameseyfs.com/blog-1/don-t-test-my-4-year-old

Pilot this year, absolutely a 'test' and not used to inform planning to support children to learn.

As an educational professional, schools would actually prefer four year olds to underperform rather than be hothoused to achieve well in this test.
Progress, so how well a child achieves from this test point up to year 6 is how the government will measure schools. A lower test outcome will predict a lower Y6 outcome, if the child goes on to achieve better than the predicted 'low' the school will be much better off in terms of progress overtime.

What this test fails in is any understanding of child development.

No it does not replace SATs.

Yes, it will replace teacher assessment at KS1 in two years.

You can't possibly suggest a baseline test at 4 replaces a summative assessment at 7?

A lot of misinformation from you.

It will replace KS1 SATS as I said.

Yes it does., You are wrong and quite frankly spamming to your uninformed blog.

Happy to be corrected but I'm fairly sure this baseline was in consultation to be run as well as the SATs. Then it became politically disadvantages to test at age 7 so the SATs at Year 2 were removed. I haven't yet seen any documentation out of the DfE to show how a baseline at age 4 will produce reliable data of how children are performing at the end of KS1.

If you are suggesting that the baseline is just there to produce school improvement data, then that just proves my point. The baseline does nothing for the children taking it.

Considering the wealth of voices against the baseline in teaching and academia, I wonder who could possibly legitimately support it. Unless of course you are an employee of the DfE or NFER?

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/714208/Reception_Baseline_Assessment_what_schools_need_to_know_WEBHO.PDF

We will use the data from the assessment to create a baseline for school-level progress measures for primary schools. This will show the progress children make from reception until the end of key stage 2 in year 6. We will publish these new measures for the first time in the summer of 2027, when the children who enter reception in autumn 2020 take the key stage 2 tests at the end of year 6.

It will also enable us to remove statutory end-of-key stage 1 assessments, as they will no longer be required to provide a baseline for progress measures, reducing the overall burden of the statutory assessment system.

No , you are wrong. You last message shows that you have not done even the most basic research. There will no accountability measure at the end of KS1 once the baseline is established.

Please don't claim to be an expert when you are not. There are real experts about this on here and you are spreading ignorance.

I didn't say there was going to be :s

Sorry but you seem very defensive and quite aggressive for someone from the profession.

Happy to be corrected

Yes I never felt that quite answered the question.of how that would work. Also how it enables teachers to plan and deliver an effective curriculum in YR.

BERA have done a lot of work on this

www.bera.ac.uk/researchers-resources/publications/a-baseline-without-basis

Also usually try not to debate criticism from anonymous accounts.

Happy to continue on Twitter where we can't hide our bias

@jameseyfs

I just signed up to reply to this post! I’m an EYP and have also studied this policy at uni.
It will replace SATS and it’s purpose is to measure progress, so doing worse in it would actually make schools look better.
Results are anonymised so not used to ‘label’ children, however to all those saying it’s useless if it can’t inform planning, if the teacher is observing children doing the test, of course they will gain an understanding of the levels children are at. I think people have become so used to attacking SATS, which I am personally against, they feel the need to fight this too. Twenty minutes of one to one time with your teacher and getting to play on an iPad would be amazing for most reception children I know! And a good opportunity for teacher to get to know the children.

The baseline does all sorts for the child! Yes it's a lot of work & box ticking but my goodness I get to know 25 children I know nothing about so much quicker!
Not to mention the fact that they thoroughly enjoy all the activities we set up to assess them....

Also usually try not to debate criticism from anonymous accounts.

Mumsnet is really not the place for you then.

You are spamming and trying to push traffic to your blog and twitter.

I really dislike it when people try and manipulate this site to use it it a way that it wasn't intended.

Anonymous debate is at the heart of Mumsnet.

of course they will gain an understanding of the levels children are at

There are no levels.

Not to mention the fact that they thoroughly enjoy all the activities we set up to assess them.

There aren't any activities 'set up' - they're on an iPad.

@JamesEYFS
The whole point of Mumsnet is that it's anonymous

@LostinNorfolk totally agree! This site is amazing, posters like op really let it down. It's not a forum for self promotion!

When you say there are no levels... are you basically against the EYFS and how it’s implemented ? Obviously that’s fine, I just don’t know what you mean by no levels?

From NFER

The reception baseline is a task-based assessment, delivered in English, using physical materials that children can easily handle such as plastic shapes and picture sequencing cards. The wording of each task has been carefully designed to maximise accessibility and to be child-friendly. Practitioners will use an online scoring system to record the pupils’ responses; the child will not interact with the digital system.

The assessment is supplied in a resource box that provides all the materials required (for example, number cards and stimulus images), together with guidance documents to support the administration of the assessment. An administration guide is provided to all users in hard copy. An online guide containing all the information required for uploading pupil data and recording the assessments will be made available.

www.nfer.ac.uk/for-schools/participate-in-research/information-about-the-201920-reception-baseline-assessment-pilot/

Schools will be provided with a series of narrative statements to describe how each pupil performed on the assessment.

Levels haven't existed since 2014.