What are some contemporary issues in the UK education system?
The issue of the SATs in primary schools is well documented, with unions threatening a boycott. What seems to have gone completely unnoticed is the excessive testing in the secondary sector between the ages of 14-18 (the GCSE and A Level years). With coursework having been abolished, the idea has been to break down each qualification into units and then to allow these units to be re-taken an unlimited number of times. This has been going on at A Level for a number of years but it is now been introduced into GCSEs as well. Primary teachers have protested very successfully about the SATs (two sets of tests in 7 years). I don’t know why secondary staff are accepting this unlimited re-take system without criticism. We are testing students more and teaching them less.
