Too Much Testing in Schools

There is too much testing in schools:

We Need to Get the Balance Right so our Children’s Learning Experiences are Relevant and Mindful 

“At Benbridge Academy, we find ourselves dealing with the fallout of students for whom school has become a corridor of closed doors.”

Why are some schools increasingly preoccupied with assessment?

“Tests are stunting children’s spirits, adding stress to family life, demoralizing teachers, undermining schools, paralyzing the education debate, and gutting our country’s future competitiveness,” wrote Anya Kamanetz in her argument against over-testing (The Test).  This critique of the American standardised testing system examines the historical manipulation and political divisiveness of standardised testing and the dangers of centralised decision-making when it comes to assessment in schools.  When considering the UK’s ridiculously onerous Key Stage 2 SATs, the quotation above is particularly apt.  Children can  no longer simply enjoy a book shared at the end of the day in the oral tradition of storytelling.  Somewhere along the line it became necessary for children to possess faux-private school grammar lingo and to be able to mention a fronted adverbial phrase in textual analysis. In Mathematics, children were no longer given the luxury of the completion of Primary School to master the four basic operations.  Teachers following chronological schemes will move to the next topic and expect of their class a universal ability to multiply fractions when a good percentage of the group have yet to master ‘timesing’ their tables of whole numbers yet.  Some are still struggling with basic addition. It seems that completion of a one-size fits all curriculum has replaced deep knowledge differentiation.  The experience of the journey is less important; it is the arrival at expected milestones that motivates curriculum design.  But why is this the case? 

This most common justifications for continual testing and examinations in schools can be categorised in the following terms

• Generation of data to inform school leadership decisions (e.g. raise teacher accountability)
• Examination results used to populate data-driven school performance tables
• The provision of a long-term series of examination steps culminating in entry to Higher Education
• To highlight the students in need of intervention strategies

Despite changes to OFSTED’s approach to school inspection, school leaders habitually present multiple spreadsheets designed to demonstrate gap analysis and value added achievements.  It can look very impressive on paper but it is driven by a culture of imposed assessment.  While many students demonstrably attain and surpass target grades throughout their educational journey, how does a culture of summative assessment affect disenfranchised students?

Impact of Over-testing on Students with Emotionally Based School Avoidance

At Benbridge Academy, we often hear of the damage over-testing causes.  As an example, a student who has missed school due to anxiety (EBSA) and fallen behind with classwork will be unable to access assessments to a satisfactory degree.  Schools are, therefore, setting such students up to fail,  further exacerbating anxiety and sense of isolation.  For students with EBSA, a stringent assessment schedule soon leads to a daunting mountain of academic backlog.

Guiding successful 21st century learners at Benbridge Academy

• Individualised goals
• Multiple assessment styles
• A culture of growth dialogue
• The three part learning model: Risk, Fix-it, Consolidation and Growth
• Emotional intelligence and resilience

At Benbridge Academy, we find ourselves dealing with the fallout of students for whom school has become a corridor of closed doors.  This is why we insist upon the following at our school:

• The majority of assessment is formative with teachers giving positive growth advice to enable students to reach their individual goals
• Students experience a wide variety of assessment activities ranging from short, fun quizzes to collaborative discussions.  There are multiple ways for teachers to gauge progress and check understanding.
• Teachers are adept at ‘live assessment’ as they work with students engaged in active learning activities.  Growth dialogue is key to successful learning.
• Our three-part learning model is designed to develop in our students independent learning skills, inquiry-based critical thinking and the resilience to take risks, recover from failure and enhance their understanding through collaboration in active learning activities. This is a far more effective approach to learning than content delivery followed by assessment. 

Our teachers adhere to the Benbridge Academy assessment policy which ensures that student wellbeing is front and centre of assessment scheduling.  Through a combination of encouraging academic ‘risk’ and pastoral support and guidance, we ensure that our students are ready to take on the demands of external examinations when the time is right.