Quote:
Originally Posted by Damien
You seem to be making argument for ditching this set of exams...
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I was schooled during the 60's and 70's. The only rote-learning we ever did was the times tables. First by reading aloud as a class every morning, then by writing them down. The teacher gave one-to-one attention to ensure we were all up to the task. Then our knowledge was assessed by weekly tests to ensure it had been fully learned.
For other subjects the teacher explained the principles, then we had to solve or answer problems or questions. The teacher again wandered the classroom, ensuring all were up to speed.
Homework was not long and laborious, but we always had some.
The first exam was the 11+ variation, which determined your "stream" in secondary school.
Then a further exam at 13 determined what subjects you would follow for CSE and GCE exams at age 16.
But when our twins went to school it had all changed. No rote learning. The teachers tended to just read aloud from a book whilst the class wrote it all down. Then it was individual learning from books or printed sheets, that was replaced by exercises on a computer. No homework ever, apart from a short period of reading through set fiction at home with parents. And this is where the biggest problem became obvious. If you fell behind you were abandoned, one-to-one help was not available.
As learning is often based upon setting foundation knowledge then building upon it, any new task became pointless to many pupils. If you had problems with basic arithmetic, then algebra was a total mystery.
Regular testing showed which pupils were having problems with which subjects, but nothing seemed to be done to remedy any problems!
That is why I am against these new tests as they appear to achieve nothing apart from statistics and rankings.
In some cases I accept that the failings are due to poor teachers, but most often it is due to the many constraints that teachers are bound by. Oversize classes, reduced lesson times, a major drift away from the 3 R's, and excessive testing. All set by politicians fiddling and changing their minds.