Children failed by teacher 'stereotypes' - Telegraph

9/8/11 5:10 PM

Children failed by teacher 'stereotypes'

Schoolchildren are being systematically marked down by teachers employing crude stereotypes, according to research.
By Graeme Paton (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/graeme-paton/) , Education Editor 12:44PM BST 04 Apr 2010

Black children and white pupils from poor backgrounds are among those most likely to be downgraded by schools, it was claimed. At the same time, Indian and Chinese children often considered to be high-achievers tend to be overassessed by teachers. The findings, in a report by Bristol University, will cast fresh doubt on calls by unions to abolish national tests for 11-year-olds in England in favour of a less formal system in which teachers assess childrens ability in the classroom. For the first time this year, the results of teacher assessment will be included in league tables alongside Sats scores but the Government has refused to scrap tests altogether. Simon Burgess, director of Bristols Centre for Market and Public Organisation, said that in some cases tests were the only opportunity children had to prove their teachers wrong.

Racism means black pupils miss out on tests (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2681797/Black-pupilsless-likely-to-be-entered-for-harder-tests-by-racist-schools.html)

Poor white boys 'fall further behind at school' (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/6817442/Poor-whiteboys-fall-further-behind-at-school.html)

Ed Balls tells teachers: don't back test boycott (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7414833/Ed-Balls-tells-teachers-dont-back-testboycott.html)

Sats for 11 year-olds may be scrapped (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/6606196/Sats-tests-may-bescrapped-hints-Ed-Balls.html)

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Children failed by teacher 'stereotypes' - Telegraph

9/8/11 5:10 PM

Primary school league tables 2009: English results down while maths stalls (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/leaguetables/6702343/Primary-school-league-tables-2009-ruralschool-named-Englands-best.html)

These findings suggest that going down the route of abolishing key stage tests at 11 would be a bad idea, he told The Observer. Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, said: There are still schools, particularly in white, working class communities, where the attitude is, the children here dont do so well, we do the best with what we have got, aspirations are not high. That is unacceptable. The National Union of Teachers is set to boycott Sats tests next month amid claims that they undermine childrens education and put headteachers jobs on the line. John Bangs, the unions head of education, said stereotyping could be combated with improved teacher training and was not a reason to maintain the exams. In the latest study, academics compared the results of Sats which are independently marked against scores assigned by staff as part of internal teacher assessment exercises. It found that black pupils aged 11 performed consistently better in Sats than in teachers own assessments. White children from the poorest communities were also under-assessed compared with better-off peers. But children from Indian and Chinese backgrounds were more likely to be marked up. The report said the differences were a result of stereotyping, rather than other factors. They were particularly pronounced in areas with fewer black children, or less children from poor estates, it was claimed.

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