Assessing for the future: A reflection from Kimichi School
Written by: Chris Passey
8 min read
CHRIS PASSEY FCCT, DEPUTY HEAD, KIMICHI SCHOOL, UK
Kimichi School is a small, music-specialist independent school in Birmingham, UK founded by Sally Alexander MBE in 2014.
Background
The introduction of a National Curriculum and, therefore, GCSEs was overseen by the Secretary of State for Education (1986–89) at the time, the now-Lord Baker. In an article for the Independent (2019), Lord Baker cited the burden of league tables and the time pressure that necessitates rote learning to cover all of the material as his personal rationale for recommending the abolition of the current assessment system at the end of secondary school education in the UK. Sarah Cottingham (2023) has reinvigorated the philosophy of Ausubel and colleagues (1968) and their work on meaningful learning, where they concluded that rote learning was in direct opposition to a deeper understanding of what was being taught and the ability to demonstrate profound learning. In examinations, employing a meaningful appr
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