Articles

Articles from a selection I have written for The Times Educational Supplement

• Teaching Practice
• Being an Inspirational Teacher
• Look After Yourself!
• First Jobs
• Setting up a Classroom
• Skills Tests

Skills Tests

Computerised QTS skills tests in numeracy and literacy were introduced in February 2001 for all those seeking to qualify as a teacher. The ICT skills test began in September 2001. Since 1 May 2002, students have needed to pass all three skills tests before they can be awarded QTS.

Back in the mists of time, when I qualified, there were no skills tests as such. A certain level of numeracy and literacy was assumed to have been achieved by passing O levels in the subjects required. This is no longer, it seems, sufficient proof.

Sometimes, however, on the 'other side of the fence' as a lecturer, marking assignments, and as a classroom teacher with a student on placement, I have wondered whether the O level/GCSE requirement was indeed enough to prove that a student was 'numerate' and 'literate.' Trust me - it can be quite alarming to see spelling mistakes 'writ large' on a whiteboard in front of a class of children. Teachers need to be 'educated folk' - or they pass on their own mistakes to a whole new generation.

Of course, lecturers try to ensure that students have access to materials and experiences that not only prepare them to teach, but also increase their own subject knowledge. In the full - throttle world of initial teacher training, this is not a very realistic option. From personal experience teaching on a Primary PGCE course, I know that students are worried about their own levels of understanding in subject areas such as maths, English and science - and there is not the time during taught sessions to provide students with everything they need to know. Students are given vast amounts of reading to complete in order to expand their own subject knowledge, in addition to assignments, preparation for school experiences, job applications…so it is perhaps little wonder that the added stress of the skills tests is a real burden for some students.

With helplines, benchmark tests and lists of suggested texts to support learning - why do students find the idea of the skills tests so stressful? A whole new set of terrifying 'Skills Tests Urban Myths' have sprung up, telling of students sobbing and swearing, losing it completely and running amock in the test centres - but what is the reality? I asked some of my students to tell me about their own experiences of the tests.

• "The prospect of doing them was a lot scarier than actually doing them."
• "They were basic, easy to do and the whole process was very well organised, but they were hyped up to be a lot worse than they were. People got too worked up about them - too much added stress!!"
• "They were fine - a bit of a time pressure but much better than I expected. Less of a big deal than everyone made out!"
• "The tests are quite demanding. It's a good job they don't apply the tests retrospectively as there are probably loads of teachers who would struggle to pass the tests.' - I didn't like the way that particular student looked at me as he said that...

The above are the thoughts of students who took the skills tests this year - so if they are not difficult, why do the skills tests cause such angst?

Students felt that the tests added stress and took up valuable time that could have been spent more usefully elsewhere.

• "They are an extra hassle in an already horrifically busy schedule. The fact that we need to have GCSE English, maths and science to get on the course should be enough evidence without these tests"
• "I passed the tests, but they were a waste of time. I should have been concentrating on my teaching practice, but had to worry about the tests. I know someone who actually quit their course because of the numeracy test."

If we look at the results of the results for 2000/2001, there are not many students failing the skills tests. Up to 30 August 2001, 99% of students passed the literacy tests and 98% passed the numeracy tests. And students can keep on taking the test until they achieve the 60 per cent pass mark, either by painstaking preparation or even just luck. So what are the tests for? Are they a valid method of determining whether students are numerate, literate and have sufficient ICT skills to function as a teacher? Or are they, as many students feel, just another hoop to jump through?

FACT: Know Your Enemy!

When I was at school, I sat many, many exams. My mother's advice as I left the house always consisted of the same phrase - 'Do you have a clean hankie?' Although I always did, I was never quite sure why it was so important - was it a talisman to offer me good luck? Or was it so I had something to sob into if the going was hard?

The TTA website is perhaps a more useful tool for students approaching their skills tests - make use of it!

• Take a calm look at the benchmark tests on the TTA site. They will help you to get a feel for the level of knowledge required to pass the tests.
• Look at the pass mark Familiarise yourself with the layout of the tests by looking at examples on the site.
• For these benchmark tests - at 60%, this equates to 26 out of 43 marks for the literacy test; 17 out of 28 marks for the numeracy test and 26 out of 43 marks for the ICT test. You KNOW these are achievable marks!
• Study the sample, interactive questions and commentaries for each subject provided on the website
• Read the study guide on the website. It includes details of what the tests cover, their format and structure
• Make use of the e-mail helpline provided on the website for each subject.
• Consider referring to books on the recommended publications for each subject

The TTA Website

The TTA website helpfully offers a glossary of words for students approaching the Skills Tests.

Useful though it is, students may find that this glossary may have more practical applications:

• Attachment Ambiguity - student becomes unclear as to whether teaching is in fact the career for them.
• Coherence - students can we found burbling as they approach the tests, completely lacking in this.
• Colon - in cases of extremely nervous students, this has been known to leak.
• Contraction - the movement made in the bowel of the student sitting the tests as the test begins.
• Determiner - student on 4th attempt at passing Literacy test
• NQT - not quite terrified
• QTS - quite terrified student
• Tense - how students feel as they approach the tests

Reproduced by kind permission of: Times Educational Supplement.