ERIC Number: EJ1232501
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0963-8253
EISSN: N/A
'It Was Deathly Dull and Boring and Stressful': Listening to Parents' Voices on Primary School Testing
Wenham, Lucy
FORUM: for promoting 3-19 comprehensive education, v61 n3 p415-426 2019
Many parents are unhappy with the way testing has altered, expanded and taken hold in primary schools in recent years. Some parents chose to express their objections to primary Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) in particular, through taking part in collective strike action. While research into testing abounds, the opinions of parents and their role in such activism remain less explored. This article draws from a qualitative pilot study into parental opinions on primary school testing. Some preliminary thematic analysis is presented, giving a flavour of the data. Parents are concerned with the effect and emotional stress on children, the content and structure of tests and with their broader impact on the curriculum and on classroom teaching. They are impassioned, articulate and forthright.
Descriptors: Parent Attitudes, Educational Attitudes, Testing, Elementary School Students, Standardized Tests, Opinions, Strikes, Social Action, Activism, Outcomes of Education, Stress Variables, Test Content, Test Format
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A