Children ‘fed up being tested’ says lecturers' leader

10:02am Tuesday 18th November 2008

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NATIONAL president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers hit out at ‘over testing’ during a visit to East Lancashire.

Andy Ballard visited Beardwood High School, Blackburn, Walter Street Community Primary School, Brierfield and St Joseph’s Preparatory School, Burnley.

He said: “Over-testing just gets in the way of good and creative teaching and fulfils no useful function.

“From the moment they walk into pre-school until they leave after A-levels children are tested to death, and that sucks all the interest and fun out of what they are learning.

“I believe a lot of the bad behaviour in schools is a result of boredom due to over-testing and the constraints this put on what and how children are taught.

“Teachers need to have the freedom to be like the youngest pupils: wide-eyed with enthusiasm because everything is strange.

“Teachers get deeply frustrated when children get turned off school and become disruptive because they are ‘fed up being tested’.”