A thought on marking and the school bulletin

While it is the case that all learning needs to be accompanied by evaluation - both of the learner's progress and of her teacher's efficacy - (and, at another level, of the system's efficacy as a whole), most of what goes on in school-systems under the rubric of evaluation may, in my opinion, be a hindrance to learning rather than an aid. Although this is a problem in any school system - see, for an example, Lacey's work on Hightown Grammar school, reported here - it has become more acute in recent decades with the increasing reliance on so-called continual assessment (which has been reduced to continuous examination). The need to give three marks in a year, each based on a wide range of work from the pupil (thus justifying the term 'average') has lead to a situation in which pupils spend a considerable amount of their time being formally tested in one way or another, and in which marks for all tests are included in the final average. In Switzerland, a pupil may have to sit up to 130 pencil-and-paper tests in a year ; the situation in France is probably little different. In the past, educators complained that the exam system subjected children to unwarrantable pressure three times a year ; today, pupils - and teachers - are subjected to permanent pressure although there is very little evidence that this has made educational systems more egalitarian or more efficient.

This hellish treadmill - with its immense costs in anxiety, unhappiness and even physical illness - prevents both teachers and pupils from evaluating in ways which help the learner learn. There is little distinction in reality between the formative and the summative test - marks for both are entered in the notebook and are entered into the calculator at the end of the trimester. The young teachers find that all they were taught about evaluation was nothing but hot air, and see this as yet further proof of the lack of realism of educationalists and teacher-trainers. What is lacking in realism is the school Juggernaut, thundering along at ever-increasing speed and crushing increasing numbers of young people beneath its wheels.

(If you have a question of a comment, write to me at tmason@timothyjpmason.com)