High-stakes? 10-11-year-old children’s stories of primary school assessment

Abstract

‘HELP. I’m a failure. I can’t do this.’ (words within a picture by Anay, aged 10) ‘Tests are a great way of helping children know what they need help on. They help teachers to be able to help students…’ (words within a picture by Jayesh, aged 10) My interest lies in children’s perceived experiences of educational assessment in primary schools in England. I track back in time to track the journey of where we are today – arguably a high-stakes system of assessment that has led to the datafication of teaching (Stevenson, 2017) and of children. Children are seemingly being trained to pass tests – primarily in English and Maths – at the expense of other curriculum subjects, learning outcomes and their mental health and well-being. My research explores the stories (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000) of primary-aged children in relation to assessment using an experiential narrative inquiry approach (Andrews, Squire and Tambouku, 2008) and multiple methods: questionnaire; pictures and/or free-writing; and semi-structured group interviews. Through this research, I reveal a unique insight and interpretation of primary-aged children’s stories through their own spoken and written words and pictures.