Thursday, March 29, 2012

Too many tests give education system a fail mark | thetelegraph.com.au

Too many tests give education system a fail mark | thetelegraph.com.au:


Too many tests give education system a fail mark

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SATURATION testing is seriously undermining the quality of primary school education and should be stopped immediately, parents and educators claimed yesterday.
Thousands of kids are subjected to trial exams every week in the lead up to the compulsory Naplan tests, as well as exams for opportunity classes or selective high schools, and coaching by private tutors.
But while Naplan, which forms the basis of performance ratings on the My School website, focuses on literacy and numeracy, experts claim they are being "taught to the test" at the expense of other areas such as arts, physical education and music.
With the barrage of testing beginning in kindergarten, education consultant and public schools principals' forum official Brian Chudleigh said the system was "out of control" and skewing