Every so often I read something that strengthens my resolve that home education is the way forward for my child. Today it was a discussion about SATS and how they may be used to pigeon hole children when they get to secondary level. Someone in the discussion pointed out that they are aware of at least one secondary local to them using a far more unpleasant way of predicting the outcome of the pupils in their school from the moment they walk through the gates of the primary school for the very first time. GCSE grades are predicted, not on academic ability, but on social background, ethnicity, family life and gender! Nothing whatsoever to do with how clever you are or how hard you work.
White skinned British girls who live in a household with married parents are predicted Grade As, white British boys come next with predicted grade Bs. A black boy who consistently scores As in tests is only predicted a C at GCSE level because of the way this scoring system is set up! It is horrific. How can children be encouraged to achieve and strive for their dreams if they are constantly told that they will only ever amount to C grades, and worse, they don't even know why this is happening. If these children are trying for a place at university or college, and conditional places are offered on the strength of predicated grades, surely white British children will stand more chance of being offered places at an establishment of their choice, while anyone else will have to take what they can get from clearing after the results come out, even though they may be A* students.
If this is true then it is an absolute disgrace and I am very glad that my child will be no part of this discriminatory process.
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