Government-imposed targets for school improvement could create "factories of knowledge" rather than "places of wisdom", according to a motion being debated at the annual conference of the National Association of Head Teachers.

Headteachers are concerned about the policy of target-setting for pupils' literacy and numeracy skills, which requires local education authorities to achieve specific levels of improvement imposed by the government, with the authorities in turn setting minimum requirements for individual schools.

Brian McNutt: Foresees narrower curriculum

By 2002, the government wants 75% of 11-year-olds to achieve its required levels for numeracy and 80% for literacy, compared to test figures for 1996, which showed 54% reaching a satisfactory level for maths and 58% for English.

Rather than this top-down, regimented approach, headteachers are calling for schools to set their own "challenging and realistic" targets.

They argue that performances should be measured in the context of the problems facing each school and each child, not what they see as an improved percentage for everyone, regardless of reality.

Brian McNutt: "The danger is that you are teaching to the tests"

The proposer of the motion, Brian McNutt, said he had no problem with targets as such, but they were based on false data and were not realistic.

"The possible effect is that schools will teach to the standard assessment tests and we will see a narrowing of the curriculum - children less motivated. Schools won't have the breadth and balance they have at the moment.

Chris McDonnell, head of Fulfen Primary School, Staffordshire, said: "I want to see schools far more involved in discussion with local and national government in producing targets and objectives that we can both agree on. We want to change the culture from 'you will do' to 'together we can do'.

"We all want our schools to improve in every way, but we're trying to make certain it's on a broad front, not just in narrow terms. A good school is much more than results from tests, there are important issues to do with pastoral care and the development of children."

Another motion for debate at the union conference in Eastbourne will challenge the government's use of deadlines for raising standards, saying that "national targets should not be linked to some year plucked out of the air".
 

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