Quote:
Originally Posted by KimyReizeger
Have you just exposed the biggest scam in the history of education?
I feel you're suggesting that the higher standard of teaching in public schools has no impact on exam performance (a ridiculous view, if this is indeed what you are saying),
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Hardly! The discrepancy between the way public schools inspected themselves & the higher standards in the state sector was the main reason they got pulled into line. The number of public schools actually inspected since then was pretty low, the last time I looked anyway.
Either way, I have less of a problem with the way the state inspectorate conducted themselves - they tended to be drawn from some of the most professional, experienced & respected educators out there & were never slow to pick-up on the failings of any establishment under inspection.
Judging a school's performance solely by its exam results is an exceptionally poor measure. Especially where state/private comparisons are concerned - for a whole lot of reasons, selectivity & relative aspirations to begin with. Chalk & cheese.
As for the standard of teaching being better in public schools, nope - most struggle to meet even very average state levels (& even though I have plenty of grumbles about that, I do accept it is better than nothing) & don't bank on them being any better funded either. Apart from at the very top of the pile. In fact the reason many private schools specialise is because they cannot hope to provide the same level of investment over the broader curriculum. Remember that the big-name schools, Eton, Harrow & the like are not very representative of the bulk of the private sector.
Another thing that really pissed me off about public schools was the way they weeded-out many potentially underperforming kids before examination & dumped them back on the state system - another pretty brutal way of keeping the results good. Saw any number of them in my time in schools n'all.
