Reino Unido: Primary school tests not about pass or fail, Nicky Morgan tells heads

The education secretary, Nicky Morgan, was met with derision from headteachers after telling them that new primary school tests were “not about pass or fail”.

Morgan’s appearance at the National Association of Head Teachers conference in Birmingham was punctuated with heckling and sceptical laughter, and came close to degenerating further when Morgan accused a questioner of sexism.

Simon Kidwell, a headteacher from a primary school in Cheshire, asked Morgan to consider easing the marking rules to give students with disabilities such as dyslexia more leeway.

When Morgan said she was reluctant to make further changes with the tests only a few weeks away, Kidwell followed up: “Are you in charge of the department or is Nick Gibb?” – a reference to the schools minister regarded as responsible for the new tests – and received sustained applause from his colleagues.

“I’m not going to dignify that sexist remark with a comment,” Morgan responded, provoking boos from the audience.

Tony Draper, a primary school head in Milton Keynes and the NAHT’s outgoing president, tweeted:

— Tony Draper (@TonyDraper12) April 30, 2016

#NAHT2016 much anger that Nicky Morgan hid behind a «sexist» comment that every delegate clearly knows was not-inadequate judgement Nicky

Morgan also said parents should not take part in a boycott planned for next Tuesday in protest at the new assessments, calling it “damaging”.

“Keeping children home even for a day undermines their education,” she said. “I urge those running these campaigns to reconsider their actions.”

Earlier, Morgan elicited a loud, sceptical response from the nearly 500 mainly primary school heads when she declared: “This is not about pass or fail, this is about knowing how children are making progress at the end of their primary school years.”

Heads later pointed out that under the government’s policies, pupils who failed the key stage two tests in English and maths would be forced to re-sit them in their first year of secondary school.

Russell Hobby, the NAHT’s general secretary, told delegates he was worried that the gap between the government and the teaching profession was widening.

In her speech Morgan offered a concession to headteachers concerned that new, tougher tests in year six would lead to many schools being labelled as failing. She said the proportion of primary schools likely to be classed as failing the government’s floor standards for key stage two tests would be frozen at the same level level as last year.

“I do not want people to be fretting and thinking that somehow it means many, many more schools are going to be below the floor standards this year. That is not what we intend,” Morgan said.

The shadow education secretary, Lucy Powell, said Morgan had been warned for months about the problems with the new assessments.

“Now the government is being forced to water down its own performance measures just days before the primary Sats tests are due to start. The chaos this government is causing in the exams and assessment system is staggering, and Nicky Morgan has some serious questions to answer,” Powell said.

Morgan otherwise stuck to her guns on the new assessments and the policy of forcing all state schools to become academies by 2022, which she described as allowing schools to “make the right choice” – to which two delegates shouted: “Rubbish!”

The end of Morgan’s speech was met with tepid applause, and her arguments failed to move the delegates, who later voted overwhelmingly to reject compulsory academisation.

The normally moderate union also passed a motion supporting industrial action as a last resort to defend comprehensive education.

Fuente:  Primary school tests not about pass or fail, Nicky Morgan tells heads