14th December 2009 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The BBC have reported that the most recent results of students in primary schools show that more than 1,400 schools fall below the minimum targets set by the government.
The targets state that at least 55% of students within a school must achieve the standard expected for their age group in both Maths and English. However the number of schools who don’t meet this target is now 1,472, up from 1,359 in 2008.
Sue Hackman, the chief adviser on school standards said that these figures represent a dip in standards, but this is after a steady progress during the last 12 years. Hackman believes that the dip is due to head teachers not setting ambitious enough targets, with some simply happy to maintain the standards achieved in the previous year.
Many head teachers have condemned the recent figures, or rather the publishing of them. The results do nothing more than give an overview of standards in the country, which the government may use as an important guide. However, for individual schools that have been highlighted in the results, the figures can be demoralising for students, and for teachers, many of whom are working tirelessly in tough communities.