'Just
weighing a pig doesn’t fatten it’ is one saying that can lead to a very heated
discussion in educational circles. The suggestion is that frequent testing does
not necessarily lead to improved performance. In recent years, schools have
been required to test at certain times of a pupil’s school life and the purpose
has been to inform on pupil progress and assess the quality of teaching given
in each school. Those in favour of more assessment believe that this is an
important tool in keeping schools on their toes and meeting the expectations of
the service user (basically the parents). Those against it feel it just leads
to more teaching directed to pass exams and less attention to activities that
put the subject into a real-life context, or that allow students to investigate
areas that are off the main core syllabus and stimulate original thought.
