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UK NEWSTEACHERS FAILING SIMPLEST OF TESTS
CONCERNED: Tory Michael Gove 
Sunday July 12,2009 By Hiliary DouglasTHOUSANDS of trainee teachers are struggling to pass simple literacy tests that require them to spell basic words like ‘anxiety’, ‘relieved’ and ‘mathematical’.
A quarter of them also had to retake the numeracy test – up from 19 per cent in 2000 – while 13 per cent needed at least three attempts before they managed to pass a counting test. The simple literacy test, which last year asked trainees to spell the words ‘following’, ‘formally’, ‘preference’ and ‘acknowledge’, had to be retaken by one in five would-be teachers, which was more than three times the failure rate back in 2000. Yesterday Michael Gove, the Shadow Schools Secretary, pledged that a future Conservative government would raise teaching standards. He said: “It is vital children have the best teachers available. It is very worrying that so many more trainees are having to repeat these tests. We want the most talented people to be encouraged to enter the profession. “We want a new generation of maths and science teachers in primary school and secondary school. At the moment, trainee teachers can re-sit the basic literacy and numeracy tests, which are the gateway to the profession, an infinite number of times.
“We need to have the highest quality graduates in the classroom so the practice of multiple re-sits will end and the tests will be upgraded. We also need to ensure those entering the profession, particularly those in primary schools, have the level of knowledge required to stretch all our pupils.” Mr Gove said the current requirement of a C grade in GCSE English and maths for student teachers was too low, and a Tory Government would make B grades the minimum required. He added: “Every institution that is funded by the taxpayer for primary teacher training will have to teach primary teachers specialist courses in phonics and maths. It is essential that primary teachers have up-to-date skills in those two fields.”
Research this year from the Spelling Society found that more than half of adults could not spell ‘embarrassed’ or ‘millennium’. A quarter struggled with ‘definitely’, ‘accidentally’ and ‘separate’. The survey found that Britons blame the current poor state of spelling on parents and teachers. Three-quarters said spelling among children was worse than 10 years ago. While successive ministers have attempted to deny that A-level exams have been dumbed down, independent research at Durham University has shown that pupils who would have failed maths A-level in 1988 would have got B/C passes in 2006. The Royal Society of Chemistry has attacked changes to maths and science teaching as a “catastrophe”. The lack of good teaching in many schools has also brought a consistent downturn in pupils’ results. In the last 10 years, 3.5 million children have left school without a good GCSE in maths, meaning they did not even manage to scrape a C grade at the most basic level in the subject. Adults do not fare much better with 6.8 million adults, 21 per cent, unable to match the standards in maths that are expected of 9 to 11-year-olds. Last year worried parents lodged almost 1,400 official complaints about the teaching, standards and leadership in England’s state schools. However, less than two per cent of the allegations were investigated. To meet growing dissatisfaction, the Government’s new Education Bill, due to come into force later this year, will set up a new independent body to deal with parental complaints.
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REEDING, RITIN AND RIFMATICK
12.07.09, 11:16pm
You don't need to be able to add 1+1 successfully in order to figure that placing a dunce in charge of 30 or 40 kids can only produce A singular result.
• Posted by: Adanac • Report Comment
TEACHING READING AND SPELLING
12.07.09, 9:34pm
Despite the government's efforts of the past ten years and the (more than) £2 billion spent on the literacy and numeracy strategies, pupils achievements in reading and writing have ground to a halt.
It doesn't need to be like that. Sounds-Write produce a report each year on the spelling abilities of children (YR to Y3) taught using their programme. By the end of Year 3, more than eighty percent of children are spelling at opr above their chronological age. Take a look at the figures: http://www.sounds-write.co.uk/documents/soundswrite_report_on_data_collection_2008.pdf
• Posted by: theliteracyblog • Report Comment
I'M NOT SURPRISED...
12.07.09, 5:26pm
..... Since Governments started interferring with our childrens education in the 1960's things have got worse. First it was dropping spelling tests, then dropping the times tables, then dropping the learning to read by the sound of the letter, next came sports day, then making exams easier as so many students were failing. First we should look at the Teacher Training Colleges and improve the standard of people applying for training.
• Posted by: Disgruntled • Report Comment
I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE ANSWER WAS SIMPLE............
12.07.09, 4:04pm
Nobody trains as a teacher unless they:-
1) have been in industry for at least ten years
2) nobody under the age of 35 is allowed to teach.
This will get rid of the career teachers, who couldn't are less about the kids and, like in the schools round where I live, young kids just out of school and teacher brainwashing college teaching when they are totally illiterate.
• Posted by: KarlH • Report Comment
TEACHER TRAINING STANDARDS
12.07.09, 1:06pm
Should be interesting to see how many trainee teachers have failed the teacher trainee course brought in by the nu lab govt. I do mean Failed the course and not the trainees who dropped out of their own accord etc. Come on Balls the schools minister tell us how many were failed after completing training as unsuitable to teach our children.
• Posted by: Daveyboy • Report Comment
GLAD TO SEE
12.07.09, 12:19pm
I'm glad to see that year on year of educational initiatives are having a positive effect on teacher training.
In truth, I believe that only high quality,well trained teachers should be allowed into schools. Therefore the tests should be made considerably harder. Each trainee teacher should be able to..
1. play a musical instrument to concert standard and conduct an orchestra.
2. Be a recognised writer with at least one commercially published book.
3. Be a professor of one of the following subjects. Physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, advanced mathematics or similar.
4. Should be a recognised thespian.
• Posted by: davesays • Report Comment
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