THE farcical events surrounding the standard assessment tests (SATs) defy belief.

 

Missing papers, inaccurate marking, results that were due but have not yet come through, youngsters who sat the exams put down as absentees – just what will it take to make the catastrophically incompetent Education Secretary

Ed Balls stand down from his job?

 

He might have ordered an inquiry into the fiasco but it is the schools committee chairman Barry Sheerman who appears to appreciate the gravity of the situation.

 

It is he who will ensure that schools are quizzed to find out what has gone wrong and it is he who is demanding that schools don’t have to pay to have tests re-marked.

 

The biggest culprit, alongside Mr Balls, is the US-based Educational Testing Services (ETS), which has charged us £165million for presiding over this circus.

 

If ever there was a case for sacking a company, it is this. There have been concerns that we have signed a binding five-year contract with the firm but how could ETS argue that it has fulfilled its side of the deal?

 

The results of more than one million tests have been called into question – a shocking figure and one for which ETS cannot come up with any possible excuse.

 

The Government should have seen this coming.

 

According to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, ETS was the lowest bidder for the job, surely not a coincidence in that it was then appointed.

 

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys. In this case, you also put the future of millions of children at risk.

 

Source: Daily Express

Time after time, ministers refuse to take the blame for their decisions. Isn't it time some of these politicians did the right thing and resign for their failures.

THE farcical events surrounding the standard assessment tests (SATs) defy belief.

 

Missing papers, inaccurate marking, results that were due but have not yet come through, youngsters who sat the exams put down as absentees – just what will it take to make the catastrophically incompetent Education Secretary

Ed Balls stand down from his job?

 

He might have ordered an inquiry into the fiasco but it is the schools committee chairman Barry Sheerman who appears to appreciate the gravity of the situation.

 

It is he who will ensure that schools are quizzed to find out what has gone wrong and it is he who is demanding that schools don’t have to pay to have tests re-marked.

 

The biggest culprit, alongside Mr Balls, is the US-based Educational Testing Services (ETS), which has charged us £165million for presiding over this circus.

 

If ever there was a case for sacking a company, it is this. There have been concerns that we have signed a binding five-year contract with the firm but how could ETS argue that it has fulfilled its side of the deal?

 

The results of more than one million tests have been called into question – a shocking figure and one for which ETS cannot come up with any possible excuse.

 

The Government should have seen this coming.

 

According to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, ETS was the lowest bidder for the job, surely not a coincidence in that it was then appointed.

 

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys. In this case, you also put the future of millions of children at risk.

 

Source: Daily Express

Time after time, ministers refuse to take the blame for their decisions. Isn't it time some of these politicians did the right thing and resign for their failures.

 

It's not often I agree with the Express, but I totally agree with EVERY word of this article... How DARE these people mess up the futures of the young people of this country.... I am so far beyond angry with this it's unreal... This is potentially disastrous for youngsters when having to try and scramble around to get university places. It's difficult enough at the best of times when it comes to 'clearing', but now because of this total fukk up, it's gonna be almost downright impossible, many youngsters will start courses either late or will miss out entirely for the academic year..... Ed Balls should be hung up by his..... <_< <_< <_<

 

We are surely the absolute laughing stock of Europe.... -_-

Sats tests are for 11 and 14 year-olds though so not the time when they're applying for courses or University. They have GCSE before those.

Sats tests are for 11 and 14 year-olds though so not the time when they're applying for courses or University. They have GCSE before those.

 

Oh... Well, in any case, 11 is still a bit of a threshold as well, you're going from Primary to Secondary education at this age.... Schools look at exam results as a measure of who to admit, so if these are fukked up, well considering the de facto two-tier education system we have in this country, I think you get my point.....

 

It's yet another example of privatisation being more difficult to control. I don't think I could name any privatisation deal which improved any service for the majority of people.

 

It's not edifying to see how many high ranking politicians nowadays feel absolutely no responsibility at all when things they're in control of go wrong. It used to be the norm for Right Honourable members.

It's yet another example of privatisation being more difficult to control. I don't think I could name any privatisation deal which improved any service for the majority of people.

 

It's not edifying to see how many high ranking politicians nowadays feel absolutely no responsibility at all when things they're in control of go wrong. It used to be the norm for Right Honourable members.

 

Yeah, I mean, when the Suez Crisis went t*ts up in the 50s, the then PM (Anthony Eden) resigned from office.... History did NOT repeat itself with the Iraq crisis unfortunately.....

 

Putting out these things for competitive tendering has led to nothing but disaster.. Look at school dinners, hospital cleaning services, the NHS IT system fiasco which cost us over 40 BILLION pounds and still rising, and now this dog's breakfast.... A catalogue of disasters....

 

Some of the politicians Maggie inherited from Ted still knew that their job was to take momentous decisions on behalf of the people and if things went drastically wrong, they voluntarily stepped down, like e.g. Lord Carrington when the Falklands were invaded. Nobody expected it to happen but nevertheless he resigned because he felt that as Foreign Secretary, he should have known. He didn't look around for a scapegoat or sit back and hope the unwelcome publicity would blow itself out.

 

I think clinging on to power at any cost started in John Major's government because he persuaded friends, amongst them notably David Mellor, to ride out situations, perhaps because he had a slim majority. It made his government and any other afterwards look sleazy.

Edited July 25, 200816 yr by Baytree

Oh... Well, in any case, 11 is still a bit of a threshold as well, you're going from Primary to Secondary education at this age.... Schools look at exam results as a measure of who to admit, so if these are fukked up, well considering the de facto two-tier education system we have in this country, I think you get my point.....

 

 

Yeah my daughter's Catholic senior school grades them in year 7 according to their Sats results so goodness knows what they'd do if any hadn't got them yet.

Edited July 25, 200816 yr by Crazy Chris

Oh... Well, in any case, 11 is still a bit of a threshold as well, you're going from Primary to Secondary education at this age.... Schools look at exam results as a measure of who to admit, so if these are fukked up, well considering the de facto two-tier education system we have in this country, I think you get my point.....

 

SAT'S test in Year 6 don't matter as such for what school you go into and more on what classes you're in. For exapmple at my school everyone in my form tutor had different SAT's results, and for the first few years we were only graded in Maths/English on our SAT's results so they don't matter as much as others, I mean in Year 9, the classes you're in the next year AREN'T based on the actual results, they're based on the mock, which renders the actual exam a bit pointless...

 

Anyway, we didn't get our's back until the last day of school this year, after being given wrong ones three times. :manson: Lots of dissapointed people when they found out the level they thought they had wasn't the actual one...

Edited July 25, 200816 yr by Jonny

I find it kinda funny that there's such an uproar over this, when really the SAT's have little to no meaning on education beyond year 9. I mean i understand people want there results, but the exams themselves are really more about the school trying to make themselves look good, than being for the student.

 

Though imagine what it would be like if this was the A-Level results..

Though imagine what it would be like if this was the A-Level results..

 

It hardly bears thinking about... But if you ask me, whether or not these exams are "important" or not is irrelevant, it's more a case of how standards are falling in general within education... The fact that the lowest bidder was chosen to do this job and then things going t*ts up because these w/ankers in Whitehall want to cut a few costs and hire the cheapest as opposed to the best at the job, just speaks volumes about this Govt's attitude towards the children of this country frankly. This Govt was elected on a platform of "education, education, education", it was one of Nu Labor's mantras, what a load of utter bollocks that's turned out to be, they're hardly any better than the last lot of b'astards we had in power... There has to be this outcry and outrage at this, because, let's face it, the Govt probably WILL try to contract out marking to the lowest bidders for GCSE and A-Levels at some point down the line, and if this sort of chaos happens with THOSE...... :wacko:

 

Some of the politicians Maggie inherited from Ted still knew that their job was to take momentous decisions on behalf of the people and if things went drastically wrong, they voluntarily stepped down, like e.g. Lord Carrington when the Falklands were invaded. Nobody expected it to happen but nevertheless he resigned because he felt that as Foreign Secretary, he should have known. He didn't look around for a scapegoat or sit back and hope the unwelcome publicity would blow itself out.

 

I think clinging on to power at any cost started in John Major's government because he persuaded friends, amongst them notably David Mellor, to ride out situations, perhaps because he had a slim majority. It made his government and any other afterwards look sleazy.

 

Spot on.

 

Just look at the amount of ridicule David Davis received only a matter of months ago for actually standing by a principle that he beieved in and standing down as an MP & from the Shadow Cabinet.

 

It is little wonder the public have little faith in politicians & civil servants when they don't recipricate what goes on in the real world. Anyone in business who made a monumental mess up as this would have fallen (albeit with maybe a thank you & goodnight payment).

 

 

It's yet another example of privatisation being more difficult to control. I don't think I could name any privatisation deal which improved any service for the majority of people.

 

Exactly... Electric, Gas, Water, Rail, deregulation of the buses. Absolute bloody fukk-ups.....

I find it kinda funny that there's such an uproar over this, when really the SAT's have little to no meaning on education beyond year 9.

 

That maybe true, but let's not forget who brought in Sats, who heralded them as the measurement of Education standards,wasn't it Nu Labour. They must think they are important or they would not have introduced them. Now that there are problems, its someone else's fault, nothing to do with the Government. :angry:

 

I wonder if they would take all the credit if they were a roaring success, and marked on time. Let me think <_<

 

The honourable thing to do would be to resign, I would have much more respect for Balls, instead we get him just talking balls. :lol:

That maybe true, but let's not forget who brought in Sats, who heralded them as the measurement of Education standards,wasn't it Nu Labour. They must think they are important or they would not have introduced them. Now that there are problems, its someone else's fault, nothing to do with the Government. :angry:

 

I wonder if they would take all the credit if they were a roaring success, and marked on time. Let me think <_<

 

Spot on Bri... I am utterly sick of these Govt buggers who come up with these things and then run away from taking any responsibility for it when it all goes pear-shaped... The "it wasn't me, honest guv.." syndrome which was first practiced by the Major Govt, but Nu Labor seems to have gotten down to a fine art......

 

No wonder Nu Labor got kicked out of Glasgow East last week, and will likely be booted out of Scotland as a whole at the next Gen Election..... -_-