For anyone who read my posting yesterday on a Schools Week report, it will seem like I am out to give them a ‘hard ride’.

Well, I’m not because by and large they report what is happening in education so it isn’t that paper’s ‘fault’ if this is bad and/or wrong. They do have a responsibility to comment knowingly, however, and I acknowledge that commentaries often follow news reports.

Today’s headline has got me animated: Government makes SATs an easier ride after ‘fiasco’ last year.

Now, I could not find an attribution for the apparent quote ‘fiasco’, though I agree with the judgement, from whoever, and nor could I find a direct reference to the other non-quoted assertion ‘easier ride’ – though I immediately guessed this could not be the case. And of course such an idea is completely irrelevant.

The DfE and has-beens like Nicky Morgan are quoted as regurgitating the nonsense about rigour and standards being maintained – these requisite mainline assertions for the philistine addicts – so nothing new or enlightening here. The only substantive factor that links to the ‘easier ride’ metaphor is that the test questions will be better stepped: in other words, questions will be organised so that ‘easier’ ones are at the beginning of tests to prevent students being discouraged at the off of their experience.

So, ‘easier start’? As there is no reference whatsoever that has any relevance to my subject English – for example, that the questions will make some informed/cognitive/linguistic sense in terms of relating to the teaching and learning of actual Writing – the fact the students might find it ‘easier’ to begin their meaningless journey is ultimately neither here nor there. Apart from them not being emotionally devastated, which I confess is quite important. Not at the start, anyway.

For anyone really interested, I have spent considerable time exposing the nonsense of last year’s KS2 English SATs elsewhere on this blog, as have others out there, and nothing has changed about that – especially as it would appear nothing has changed about this continuing type of ill-informed, pedantic and often ludicrous questioning – apart from the nonsense it will be stepped!

I do and don’t despair. The English teacher in me prompts the former; the weary realist informs the latter.

Continuing KS2 question type:

In the sentence above, write an explanation for each way in which a semi-colon [shown] or a connective [rewrite and add an appropriate one] would serve the rhetorical balance of its assertion.