Shownotes Transcript
David Meechan unpicks the issues around the reception baseline assessment, he shares his research with us, as well as his personal experience as a parent, including requesting his son's withdrawal from the assessment and having to work with solicitors on this matter. David discusses his view on data, which should 'drive inclusion and promote access', rather than data being part of a reductionist model. David explains that the baseline assessment is in fact reproducing faults of an old system, rather than coming up with transformative or innovative ways of measuring children's progress. At the end David gives insight into his research findings around some positives teachers have taken from making the most of the reception baseline assessment, and he gives tips for teachers currently conducting the assessment. Episode breakdown: 01:20 - How David's work started on the reception baseline 02:40 - Requesting his son's withdrawal from the assessment 04:45 - Inconsistencies of withdrawal from the assessment 06:20 - Moral issues with assessment and testing 08:20 - Research into the baseline assessment 11:30 - Signing away a child's data footprint 12:47 - The datafication of early years 16:00 - Are the children's best interests at heart? 17:30 - Taking teachers out of classrooms 18:58 - Key findings from David's baseline research 20:40 - Treating children as a means to an end 24:25 - Making the most of the reception baseline assessment 26:00 - A holistic approach to the baseline assessment 27:30 - Reliability of the baseline assessment 29:00 - Reducing lived experiences to abstract numbers 31:05 - Positives taken from the baseline assessment 33:00 - Giving value to assessment 36:55 - Tips for teachers conducting the baseline assessment
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