George74 wrote:
I'm not sure the new test will be fairer for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Children who haven't had as much practice of the NVR type questions are at a distinct disadvantage because they're not covered in the curriculum. So children who receive tutoring should do better under this new weighting.
Under the CEM test, out of the three sections, children on free school meals did worst in NVR and best in maths, so the new weighting definitely won't help them...
Could someone tell me what the 21 types are....?!
Also, it seems quite outrageous that the grammar schools can just change the test without consulting with parents first.
Hi George and welcome to the forum.
I agree that the new format won't help make the test fairer. As for your point about consultation, I believe the old contract ran out which is why they went out to tender for a new contract. Also, call me cynical but I believe that if the schools opened a genuine consultation they would get a disproportionate response from parents of backgrounds that typically qualify or aspire to qualify in the test. I can't imagine many parents from those backgrounds pushing to change a system in order to render tuition and practice obsolete.
I have a similar suspicion of parent governors at the grammar schools. How many of them are going to be objective when they have an opportunity to influence a school's position on selection, when they are presumably quite content with the system that got their children into the grammar school in the first place?
I believe 'groupthink' is what got the Bucks grammars into the pickle they found themselves in when they selected the current test provider a few years ago. Groupthink from Heads easily influenced by one of their own and too easily convinced. I may be wrong but I don't believe circumstances have changed sufficiently in order that some innovative thinking among the grammar schools might shake things up and make the system a fairer one and one less open to exploitation. No one seems to be brave enough to step forward and suggest some adaptations to improve things. Either that or they're quite happy with things as they are and all the talk about wanting a fairer system is just PR speak.