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

Hear and read more on The Voice of Early Childhood website: www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

What’s the problem with the reception baseline assessment? 40:00 Share

The Voice of Early Childhood

Shownotes Transcript

What’s the problem with the reception baseline assessment?