Children's perceptions of primary science assessment in England and Wales

Abstract

This study builds on and contributes to work on assessment of children in primary school, particularly in science. Previous research has examined primary science assessment from different standpoints, but no studies have specifically addressed children's perspectives. This article provides additional insight into issues surrounding children's assessment in primary school and how the assessment of science might develop in England after the science SATs (Standard Assessment Tests) were abolished in 2009. Some research suggests that primary science assessment via SATs is a major reason for the observed decline in children's engagement with science in upper primary and lower secondary school. The analytic focus on engaging children as coresearchers to assist in the process of gathering informed views and interpreting findings from a large sample of children's views enables another contribution. The study, based on a survey of 1000 children in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales, reveals that despite being assessed under two different regimes (high‐stakes national tests in England and moderated teacher assessment in Wales), children's views of science assessment are remarkably consistent. Most appreciate the usefulness of science assessment and value frequent, non‐SATs testing for monitoring/improving science progress. There was a largely negative impact, however, of science assessment on children's well‐being, particularly due to stress. The paper demonstrates that children provide an important perspective on assessment and that including their views can improve policy‐making in relation to primary science assessment.

Validity considerations ensuing from examinees’ perceptions about high-stakes national examinations in Cyprus

“…how a policy initiative is interpreted and translated into practice by 428 M.P. Michaelides students as one of many actors, rather than by students as subjects who blindly implement a policy (Elwood, 2012;Murphy, Lundy, Emerson, & Kerr, 2013).…”

Belonging, student identity and school activity preferences: Views from Year 4 in the global cities of Hong Kong, Singapore and Melbourne

“…In terms of school activities, Melbourne students tended to prefer more Academic activities ( Mathematics and science , Reading and writing , Languages , and Taking tests ) than Hong Kong students, and Singapore students’ responses tended to fall between the two. Other studies (in English language contexts) have found that students of a similar age have tended to prefer non-academic subjects (Colley and Comber, 2003; Hasni et al, 2017; Murphy et al, 2010), although in one international study, Maths was often named as the favourite subject, although this differed by location (Chambers et al, 2018). As the survey asked whether students would like school subjects to happen more often, the same, or less often, a further consideration of the Year 4 timetables, and how much time is already dedicated to these areas, may go some way to explaining students’ subject and activity preferences.…”

“…For the Year 7s, the top three subjects chosen by girls were Art, Drama and PE, compared to PE, ICT and Art by boys. Similarly, Murphy et al’s (2010) survey of Year 6 students (aged 8–11 years) in the UK found that, of the 891 students who responded to the question, students most often named PE (26%) or Art (22%) as their favourite subjects, although this was followed by Maths (17%) and Science (10%). Hasni et al’s (2017) study of 2571 students in Canada from Year 5 to Year 11 similarly found PE and the Arts were the most preferred.…”

Time to Listen: Children’s Voice in Geoscience Education Research

“…The Children's Research Advisory Groups (CRAGs) method centers children's or students' voice in research (Lundy et al, 2011;Murphy et al, 2013). Representative groups of children act as expert co-researchers, giving their opinions derived from their experiential expertise on "children similar to themselves" (for example, their peers, classmates, siblings, etc).…”