Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader? UK Edition

Tuckerfan · Dec 7, 2022

If you're an MP, the answer seems to be "No."

MPs and peers do worse than 10-year-olds in maths and English Sats

MPs and peers tasked with completing a year 6 Satss exam have scored lower results on average than the country’s 10-year-olds.

MPs including Commons education select committee chair Robin Walker took part in the exams, invigilated by 11-year-olds, at a Westminster event organised by More Than A Score, who campaign for the tests to be scrapped.

Only 44% of the cross-party group of parliamentarians dubbed the Westminster Class of 2022 achieved the expected standard in maths and just 50% had achieved the expected standard in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Across the country, 59% of pupils aged 10 and 11 reached the expected standard in the Sats tests of maths, reading and writing this year, down from 65% in 2019, the previous time the tests were taken. Detailed figures published by the Department for Education in the summer revealed disadvantaged children had a steeper fall than their better-off peers.

Walker took part in the Big SATS Sit-In Westminster alongside his Conservative colleagues Flick Drummond and Gagan Mohindra; Labour MPs Ian Byrne and Emma Lewell-Buck with the Green party’s Lady Bennett to experience the high-stakes nature of the exams. More Than A Score hope the politicians will take the high-pressured experience away with them and realise that “the exams only judge schools but do not help children’s learning” at that age.

“The exams were absolutely terrifying,” Byrne said, “the mental impact such pressure would have on these young children is immense. Sats at this level must be scrapped. I’m delighted so many cross-party colleagues could experience this pressure too.”

Walker, the new chair of the education select committee acknowledged a need to reform exams for 10 to 11-year-olds, but refused to back dropping the exams altogether. “There will always be a place for testing but that cannot be the be-all and end-all to accessing the most opportunity. Ultimately, it’s not just about testing but it’s how we develop their love of reading.”

His comments were welcomed by Drummond who said a lot of the terminology used in the grammar exam was “unnecessary”. “We should have assessments but they shouldn’t be at such high stakes, wasting six months or more. It was quite a hard test and we need to acknowledge what will actually be useful for the future. We’re not educating young people to pass tests, we should want to give them a love of learning.”

A YouGov poll commissioned for the campaign group found 8% of parents and headteachers agreed that preparing for Sats and other tests should be the bottom of their priorities in the classroom. It also found 60% of parents felt intense nature of the exams harmed children’s mental health.

Alison Ali from More Than A Score said: “This is more than a test of maths and English capabilities, it’s an opportunity for MPs to put themselves in the shoes of 10 and 11-year-olds … they will see how absurd some of the questions faced by children are, how these absurdities influence and narrow the whole curriculum and how they are only used to judge schools not to help children’s learning.”
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Tererune · Dec 7, 2022

So the fifth graders are passing the tests more than the adults, but they are considering scrapping the tests because they were too hard for the adults to pass?

I can understand not using the tests to limit children at such a young age, and learn to adjust what we do about the scores, but if the kids are passing more than the adults then that is a sign of improvement in education and the tests should not be scrapped, but rather the dumbasses that are adults should be looked at as dumbasses.

My nephew beats me at some video games, and he might end up getting math better than I did at his age. I am not going to say get rid of the tests because he beat me. I am going to be happy that he got more education and mental abilities than I did.

the MPs must be right wingers. It is only them that would be angry that kids were so smart so we need to fuck up the schools. Fucking liberals improving education so their kids know how stupid their parents are. We should stop funding schools and colleges because everyone must be stupid as Thog, AKA every republican ever.

matthunter · Dec 7, 2022

Well, it's not clear if the MPs were given as much revision time as the kids. With maths as well, the introduction of BODMAS/BIDMAS can trip up adults over a certain age as they were taught differently about the order in which operations should occur.

That said, still a bit crap.

Bickendan · Dec 7, 2022

matthunter said: ↑

Well, it's not clear if the MPs were given as much revision time as the kids. With maths as well, the introduction of BODMAS/BIDMAS can trip up adults over a certain age as they were taught differently about the order in which operations should occur.

That said, still a bit crap.
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The civilized world calls it PEMDAS

Demiurge · Dec 8, 2022

Man, I was sure this was about FF.

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Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader? UK Edition

Tuckerfan BMF

Tererune Troll princess and Magical Girl

matthunter Ice Bear

Bickendan Custom Title Administrator Faceless Mook Writer

Demiurge Goodbye and Hello, as always.

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Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader? UK Edition

Tuckerfan BMF

Tererune Troll princess and Magical Girl

matthunter Ice Bear

Bickendan Custom Title Administrator Faceless Mook Writer

Demiurge Goodbye and Hello, as always.

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