Please Hold the Press

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7816680.stm


I really can't get that upset for the press on this one. Personally, I hate league tables. As much as they might be a worthwhile idea, ostensibly to let parents choose the best schools, they are hideously misleading.

1: A school might pull in the middle-class to upper-class children, which (statistically) perform better, lifting league tables up.

2: A school might work hard in catchment area where social problems are massive. The hard work of pupils and staff in these schools is often not noticed, with league tables.

3: A school will often work harder and harder just for the league tables. It ceases to become about education to teach children, and more to satisfy targets and to climb that greasy, newspaper-driven league.

If the league tables are delayed in publication, great! I only hope they're permanently delayed. Maybe Ofsted can inspect the schools to ensure the teaching is of good quality. Maybe that inspection (it already is) can be published, talking about the limitations/positives of each school. But why do we continue to place such value on league tables, which are extremely limited in judging which are better schools? Come to think of it, what is a "better" school?

Burn all league tables, newspapers. And stop moaning. There's more important things to write a letter to the Government about.

Post by Ol - opinions not neccessarily those of the student society