Let's imagine you, as an employee, were monitored, judged and valued against a set of assessments whose outcomes you had only partial control over. Let's also assume that you were remunerated according to these same outcomes. And let's, for argument's sake, assume that the criteria for these assessments were inconsistent with the realities of performing your daily routines and that they ignored a range of key determining factors, well outside of your control. Now let's add into the mix the idea that others would be using these outcomes to make judgments about you and the quality of your work, many of whom have little or no real idea what you job entails or how your institution operates; and others who once did your job, but not well enough to keep doing it, now use these assessment outcomes to make judgements about you. And finally, just for good measure, we'll imagine that a list was published every year which compared you and your work place against all the others who do the same work.
Now let's imagine that you had the opportunity to choose not to do those assessments. Wouldn't you jump at the chance??? To keep doing your job well, in dialogue with you colleagues about how maintain the quality of your work. Developing from the inside, based on the values and philosophies that you hold dear.
Only 15% of primary schools in England opted to boycott SATs this year. 15%!!! The proverbial spanner was dangled near the wheel, but decidedly not shoved in!
