UCAC has welcomed two decisions announced this week by the Education Minister, Leighton Andrews.
Elaine Edwards, UCAC’s General Secretary said “We’re extremely pleased that the Minister has been willing to listen to our concerns. There was broad agreement across the sector that primary banding was unworkable because at least 30% of schools were too small to provide statistically significant information, and because of the challenge of gathering consistent attainment data for primary school pupils. We very much hope that the planned literacy and numeracy tests provide the national consistency of data that the Minister seeks, and that they’ll be a valuable tool without being over-bureaucratic.”
“The decision on the Child Development Assessment Profile (CDAP) will come as a massive relief to teachers in the Foundation Phase as well as a positive step for parents and children. The Minister has already acknowledged that there are serious problems with the Profile, and it doesn’t make sense to insist that these tests continue to be carried out whilst they are under review. Teachers felt that conducting the assessments diverted them from the essential tasks of settling the children into the new environment and developing a relationship with them.”
