teenage years, it is clear that emotional and mental health are most in jeopardy across the teenage population precisely at the time of the national examinations.
I consider this new information warrants a chapter in the book devoted to addressing the issues of child mental health related to the examinations.
Even if we set aside the mental health and well-being elements of young people, the examinations do not constitute the ‘level playing field’ they purport to be. The examinations, particularly in their ‘study leave’ element, make massive assumptions about the ability of pupils to respond effectively to a period of independent, autonomous and self-regulated study.
A comfortable and quiet room, books and materials, access to the internet and regular food and drink might be considered as basic requirements, but even these are beyond the reach of a large and ever-increasing group of pupils growing up in poverty.
Coupled to those in care, those in hospital and other socially vulnerable families, the egalitarian and fair premise on which the examination system is based erodes quickly. The standard examination becomes deeply weighted towards those pupils in relatively prosperous households, with robust support systems from the family and every opportunity to be successful in the ordeal of the examinations.
Government statistics for the UK published in 2019 indicate that 3.5 million children (26 per cent) (Francis-Devine et al, 2019) live in absolute low income. This trend is continuing to grow, mostly due to the working poor having incomes that are shrinking relatively. That represents one in four children in schools generally, and significantly more than that in the poorest wards in the country.
The book intends to address these issues and suggest some ways in which every pupil can thrive in their general learning, and develop the independent and autonomous learning skills necessary to thrive in the examination system and in life beyond school.
Threats and opportunities
From the above, it might be considered that I am arguing against the format of the current examination system per se. I would deploy that argument if I thought it had even the remotest chance of being successful. However, that argument must wait for riper times of change. In the meantime, we must deal with the reality of the examinations as they currently exist and seek to ameliorate their worst aspects and prepare young people far better to survive them and thrive.
Nevertheless, this book is written at an interesting and potentially more receptive time for its message. The direction of travel in English education (although I sense parallels from conversations with colleagues in American, Australian and Indian schools) has been to enshrine the public examination as a gold standard of assessment.
Under a previous British Education Secretary, notorious for believing that he had heard more than enough of the words of experts, the return to formal written examinations and the abandonment of coursework was a necessary requirement of a ‘rigorous system’ (Mance, 2016; Meikle, 2012).
This was despite the fact that coursework was a broader examination of the skills of an individual pupil, requiring individual research, hypothesis testing and presentations skills to be deployed. This argument was couched in terms of a lack of rigour in the assessment of coursework components and concerns about performance inflation by teachers on behalf of their pupils. The corollary was that the examination provided an unimpeachable ‘level playing field’ that was beyond the ability of individual teachers to influence.
Move forward a few years and now we have concerns that the ruling orthodoxy in government dogma of schools being held accountable for producing exponential and continual improvements in pupil outcomes is producing ‘examination factories’. This ethos is producing the collateral damage of the mental well-being of pupils and staff. Mental health is sacrificed to the short-term good of maximising examination achievement.
The summer of 2018 has seen reported evidence of the widespread use of ‘off-rolling’ of pupils out of A level courses if their projected performance undermines the global achievement figures of the educational establishment. There have been reports of grade deflation and inflation in key stage testing so that schools can maximise the added value that they confer on the educational attainment of their pupils.
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills, Amanda Spielman, has commented negatively on the ‘examination factory’ mentality of many schools and the toll it is taking on the mental well-being of pupils, as well as issues related to the recruitment and retention of staff (Adams, 2018).
So perhaps more radical, fundamental change is coming, at a cultural and national level, which will provide pupils with a more rational and equitable pathway to access their future goals.
Structure of the book
Given the points regarding school structures and cultures, pupils’ learning and motivation techniques, and parental involvement and support of learning, the book is divided into these three elements.
Each element gives the school leader and teacher access to research and observations that support a review and regeneration of how they prepare pupils for formal examinations.
As a minimum, it is hoped that the book will provoke a review of the revision practices provided for supporting pupils in examinations.
I would hope that schools would make more profound use of the book to support a cultural review of how they teach, how they prepare pupils and engage parents in a holistic programme of support prior to and during examinations.
Such a comprehensive programme enables all pupils to truly maximise their potential and have meaningful choices as to how to continue their education beyond statutory age in further or higher education.
That the examination techniques introduced here can help to give pupils a growth mindset and a structured and fearless attitude to examinations is all the better, for such an attitude is the basis of the successful independent and autonomous lifelong learner, on whom the future prosperity of the country depends.
Within the book, triangulation points are used as pauses in the narrative to enable readers to reflect on the chapter content and compare it to their own circumstances and experiences. These may also contain prompts to help develop new understanding into individual and school research avenues or technique development.
My personal experiences in change management in engagement with pupils, teachers, senior leaders, governors and parents are recounted in ‘Case studies’. These ensure that I ground any theoretical analysis with practical implementation examples.
Each chapter has a reading list to enable further research, with particularly significant texts highlighted and explored in more detail.
Bibliography
Adams, R (2018) Ofsted Inspectors to Stop Using Exam Results as Key Mark of Success. Guardian. [online] Available at: www.theguardian.com/education/2018/oct/11/ofsted-to-ditch-using-exam-results-as-mark-of-success-amanda-spielman (accessed 19 September 2019).
Francis-Devine, B, Booth, L and McGuiness, F (2019) Poverty in the UK: Statistics. [online] Available at: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN07096/SN07096.pdf (Accessed 19 September 2019).
Mance, H (2016) Britain Has Had Enough of Experts, Says Gove. Financial Times. [online] Available at: www.ft.com/content/3be49734-29cb-11e6-83e4-abc22d5d108c (accessed 11 September 2019).
Meikle, J (2012) GCSEs Are Dead: The EBacc is the Future, Says Michael Gove. Guardian. [online] Available at: www.theguardian.com/education/2012/sep/17/gcse-ebacc-michael-gove (accessed 11 September 2019).
NHS Digital (2019) National Study of Health and Wellbeing: Children and Young People. [online] Available at: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/areas-of-interest/public-health/national-study-of-health-and-wellbeing-children-and-young-people