Campaigns Working on Assessment

More Than a Score

More Than a Score is a growing coalition of parents, teachers, heads and education experts, working together to call for change in the Government’s over-testing regime.

They believe that primary school is a time for self-discovery, confidence building and nourishing potential. They say that children in England are being let down by a system that cares more about measurement than their education:

“Our system is obsessed with league tables, turning children into data points and denying them a broad, stimulating education at key stages in their development. It puts an unnecessary burden on children, parents and teachers alike.”

Teachers and parents can demonstrate their opposition to a system saturated with high-pressure testing by signing and displaying the More Than a Score Pledge, and supporting their campaigns and petitions.

Find out more about the Pledge in this short film:

The More Than a Score website also provides a useful toolkit for parents which includes advice, ideas and resources to get your voices heard.

Rethinking Assessment

Launched in 2020, Rethinking Assessment is “a movement to value the strengths of every child”. They say that our exam system is a mess and now is the time to reshape it:

“People question why we are continuing with the curious anomaly of a school leaving age exam at 16 – GCSEs – when young people can’t leave education until 18. Much of that anxiety was crystallised in the events of this Summer [2020] which has left the whole edifice in a state of flux.

Headteachers, teachers, students, parents, and businesses are now raising big issues about how we can do things better in the future.”

They say that critique is important but not sufficient, so if you believe now is the time to rethink assessment, please join the conversation. They ask you to help them by adding your voice and ideas.