Westminster, United Kingdom
You would think that well-qualified MPs would score high on standardised tests taken by 10-year-old school children, however, a mock exam conducted at an event in UK's Westminster proved otherwise. At the event organised by More Than A Score, a campaign that advocated for the scrapping of unnecessary tests, an MP sitting for a year six SAT exam actually scored less than Britain's average 10-year-olds.
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Guardian reports that in the test undertaken by Commons education select committee, chair Robin Walker and other MPs only 44 per cent of the "class" of parliamentarians scored the expected standard score in maths, while about 50 per cent scored the standard in English grammar, punctuation and spelling.
This is far below what the children achieve; this year as per Times, 71 per cent of 10 and 11-year-olds across the country reached the expected standard in maths, while 72 per cent got the expected score in English grammar, punctuation and spelling.
This morning I did my Maths and Grammar SAT exams with @MoreThanScore under the same conditions that our Year 6 children experience - invigilated by the children themselves!
?â??#BSSI #MoreThanAScore pic.twitter.com/dvZX68SaQi
â Emma Lewell-Buck MP (@EmmaLewellBuck) December 6, 2022
The pressure in the room is palpable as MPs sit the #SATs exam in Westminster under the exact conditions Year 6âs experience #BSSI pic.twitter.com/j5u5yhlpm1
â More Than A Score (@MoreThanScore) December 6, 2022
In 2019, the last time this test was conducted, a higher number of students; 65 per cent achieved the expected score.
The aim of the More Than A Score event was to make politicians realise that the high-pressure exams "only judge schools but do not help childrenâs learning".
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While the campaign may not have successfully convinced MPs about altogether scrapping the tests, it did make them acknowledge the sheer pressure these young children face.
Robin Walker, the new chair of the education select committee, as per Guardian, acknowledged that reform is needed.
However, the politician said that while reform is needed "there will always be a place for testing but that cannot be the be-all and end-all to accessing the most opportunity. Ultimately, itâs not just about testing but itâs how we develop their love of reading."
(With inputs from agencies)
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