Education matters

The end of the academic year for those who sat their A’ levels came last week when the results were announced along with the associated whoops of joy or sobs of disappointment that came along with them. 

I’m delighted to say that my nephew performed wonderfully and is now is on his way to Oxford in September and, in a few days’ time, it will be the turn of those who sat their GCSEs in May and June to await the outcome of their hard work or, in some cases, lack of it.

One of those awaiting his results is my eldest son. He has worked hard and hopefully will get the grades he needs to enter the college of his choice, but if he doesn’t then my job is to ensure that we regroup and rebuild to be sure that the path he wants to take opens up to him next year.

If he does then alongside the celebrations, my job again will be to support and encourage him as he embarks on the next stage on his path to become a doctor which is the ambition he holds at the moment. 

Either way, it is the support we give as parents that helps students make sense of, and learn from, the sometimes miserable experience of sitting exams.

The end of August is always a trying time both for schools and students because the number of passes is ultimately a reflection.

If a school has a consistent pattern of success it suggests that it must be a good school which in the Kingdom of Bahrain impacts on the number of applications they receive and equally the fees they can charge. And, so conversely, if a school doesn’t perform as well, the opposite assumption is often made.

What the end of year exam results don’t adequately reflect, however, is progress.  Experienced educationalists will know that attainment and achievement are two entirely different things and although receiving a pass grade from A* to C, is seen as success, a child who scores a D, E or F hasn’t necessarily ‘failed’ just because they haven’t achieved a universally recognised pass.

What the finalistic system of grading gives us is a distorted view of what constitutes success in an education and examination system that leans too heavily on the memorisation of facts rather than demonstrating a deep understanding through practical opportunities to apply knowledge learned. 

Let’s take for example a child who in his final year of GCSEs working at an average F grade. Now, he works hard, attends tutoring and tries his hardest and, at the end of the year, scores an average D grade. Is he a failure? He has moved forward two whole grade bands in a year which is a magnificent achievement for anybody, yet under the current accepted norms, he has failed because his achievement and his attainment don’t add up to an agreed view of success, and that can be catastrophic.

It takes an experienced staff to lift a student who is experiencing this mismatch and get them to dust themselves off and make the same level of progress again the following year to open up the doors that the fabled A* - C grades give access to … and I only hope that schools in Bahrain are equipped to do so.