Recommendations appear out of step with ideals of assessment for learning
Among the goals of education reforms launched in 2000 was the reduction in testing and more varied teaching, learning and assessment strategies.
Is the progress to date providing a less pressurised learning environment for primary school students?
The Education Commission's consultation document on medium of instruction and secondary school places allocation (SSPA) seems to neglect in-depth discussion of the latter in favour of the more emotive topic of language.
The recommendations on SSPA seem out of line with the reform's emphasis on assessment for learning - an assessment process which serves primarily to promote students' learning.
It contrasts with the more traditional assessment of learning which has the primary purpose of measuring what children have learnt. Ideally, the two should be complementary, if an assessment task leads to solid learning and can be used to measure performance. Often this does not happen, for example, when students memorise facts for a test and then forget them soon after.