Luke meddings biography

Luke meddings biography: Luke Meddings is an award-winning author,

Two years ago I sat with Chuck Sandy and Vladimira Chalyova in a cafe in Kosice, Slovakia, discussing the problem of standardised assessment and brainstorming possible slogans. This article is a continuation of work that has gathered pace since that day: an effort to understand what strikes me as a universal problem in education, namely the increasing lack of time and space available to teachers and students to explore their subject any subject critically and creatively.

It can motivate, and it can — if used to counter the potential bias of personal recommendation, for example — democratise. But if it is over-prioritised, it can limit what we do in classrooms to a rainy parade of past papers. It can reduce the syllabus to testable chunks. It can be done far too much, and much too young: increasingly, it is.

I want to consider assessment from a very broad perspective. Firstly, by looking at our teaching lives in the context of broader trends. Secondly, by using a poem from the last century, the one that was modern, as a reference point. And thirdly, by suggesting five points for reflection and action. Without reflection there is no understanding; without action there is no change.