Madam, - I too must express my concerns over the Minister for Education and Science's plans to introduce standard testing for primary schoolchildren.
My first issue is with the concept itself: at particular stages in the education system it is necessary to test a student's progress; primary school should not be one of these stages.
Speaking as a third-level student, I can assure all that exams are the bane of my, and my fellows', existence. Primary school-days should be free of the hassles of such serious examinations and assessments.
The perception and treatment of the current State exams by society in general adds immeasurably to the stress suffered by our secondary school students every year. The Minister's proposals are obviously completely different to the current State examinations, but will it be seen as such? Despite the reality of the matter, will countless seven-year-olds be put under unwarranted pressure from well-meaning parents?
Concerns have rightly been raised over the treatment of the results of these assessments. The debate over the release of the Junior and Leaving Cert results still rages. Will parents not want to see how their child's school fares in relation to others?
Suddenly, success in such assessments counts for progress into secondary schools, which in turn can affect further progress in both education and careers.
Please do not doubt that in the contemporary cultures some children shall be burdened with profound issues concerning the rest of their lives at the age of seven.
Furthermore, the suggested testings shall add to the creation of a test culture, when exam results are more important than the learning that they assess.
By necessity, standard systems of testing are required at second level; standard assessments at primary level would be superfluous and wasteful.
The Minister is right to pursue a process whereby he can determine where to put the resources available to him with the best results.
Primary schoolteachers are professionals, and after a year of teaching, a teacher will know more about a pupil than any test, exam or assessment (call it what you may) ever shall.
I can see no reason why the Minister cannot achieve the statistics he desires using current infrastructures.
It is curious to note that many of the organisations representing those involved in primary schooling only heard of these proposals from the media. Has the Minister not learned anything from the recent election results?
Finally, despite our good Government's recent commitment to the Irish language, it is curious to note that there shall be no assessment of a pupil's progress in our native tongue. - Yours, etc.,
RICHARD SCRIVEN,
Ballinlough,
Cork.
Madam, - There is a common belief that testing children is the easiest way to assess the teacher's ability to teach them. A child's ability, however, depends on a number of factors: their motivation, their upbringing, their social circle.
Testing children in primary school merely labels the child earlier. The points system ensures that this happens later when the child reaches the final stages of secondary school. Of course good teaching is important. But instead of encouraging teachers by reducing class sizes and giving them more resources, they pour money into an exam-based primary school system which has failed notoriously in Britain.
What I fail most to understand is why the Irish Government insists on taking its own educational system completely for granted. It is among the best in the world. - Yours, etc.,
JENNIFER HEGARTY-OWENS,
Erlangen,
Germany.