Commenting on the Education Policy Institute’s (EPI) report on
England’s education system, Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of
the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said:
“This is an interesting report, but raises more questions than it
answers. We hope that it does not fuel another round of
teacher-bashing from those, including policy-makers, who don’t
recognise the differences in education systems across different
countries and jurisdictions.
“The report suggests a confidence in the new GCSE grading system
that few people share. Pointing to the need for large numbers of
pupils to attain higher grades while the exam system is in such
flux is more likely to confuse than to clarify the issues.
“Sadly, this report does not objectively critique the impact that
the obsession with PISA results has had on education policy in
recent years. Have curriculum and qualification reforms,
introduced to raise exam standards, led to sustained improvements
in pupil learning? Or have these rushed reforms thrown our
schools, teachers and pupils into a merry-go-round of constant
change and confusion? Everyone wants the best for our pupils, but
simply raising the bar, without investing properly in schools and
recognising the professionalism of teachers, simply sets them up
to fail.
“We fear this report will be used to legitimise the argument that
moving up international league tables is the most important
aspect of education. It isn’t. Instead we should collectively be
enabling every child to succeed, whatever their background.
“As with all data, comparisons between countries are only useful
if they help us to ask the right questions about our education
systems. We hope that further EPI reports on this issue will
enable our policy makers to do that.”
