Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Politicians - the Brits Education Secretary Michael Gove
Mr. Gove doesn't appear to be beholden to anyone or anything except improving education.
This will be interesting to follow...
This will be interesting to follow...
Tim Montgomerie writes about him in the U.K. Daily Mail
"The teaching unions that have presided over the ‘All Must Have Prizes’ system will fight him tooth and nail. They want to protect their jobs-for-life regime where bad teachers are rarely sacked but are instead allowed to damage countless pupils’ life chances, year after year.
Gove is undeterred. He’s ready to close down a system where children who can’t manage their times tables are studying for exactly the same exams as those who are on track to study physics at Oxbridge. Meanwhile, the questions in exams have become preposterously silly.
In one science exam 16-year-olds were asked if they should look at the stars through a telescope or a microscope.
Another test asked: ‘What part of a rider’s body does a riding hat protect?’"
And in the same Daily Mail, Tim Shipman highlights the reasons behind Mr. Gove's plans:
"British pupils have slipped down international league tables in key subjects over the past decade.
The most authoritative comparison is the Programme for International Student Assessment carried out by the OECD. It is based on tests given to 15-year-olds in up to 65 countries.
When first carried out in 2000, the UK was ranked fourth in science, seventh in literacy and eighth in maths. The science ranking fell to 12th in 2003, 14th in 2006 and 16th in 2009.
In literacy the country sank to 11th in 2003, 17th in 2006 and 25th in 2009.
The most dramatic slump is in maths, where the ranking was 18th in 2003, 24th in 2006 and 28th in 2009."
