Pupils to sit times tables check from 2019
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-39053483
Now before I begin, yes of course I absolutely think children need to know their tables inside out and back to front. But really, yet another sodding TEST??
My issues with this are:
- Ideally, children should have mastered this by end of Y4 in order to access the Y5/6 curriculum. Therefore isn't testing the Y6 children a bit pointless? Horse bolted??
- Surely all this test will highlight are the children who probably struggle anyway (poss due to SEN, dyslexia/dyscalculia, etc) or simply crumble under pressure. I know, let's make them feel even worse than they probably already do with another lovely test to make their confidence plummet even further?!!
So presumably this will actually not be an effective way to drive up standards... meaning it's yet another way to berate schools and teachers for being 'shit'.
I teach Y6. I had children in tears last year during some of the SATS (hideous reading paper anyone?) because they felt unable to access these bloody tests. At what point can we say no more?!
I'm beginning to feel that I work in manufacturing, not teaching....