Dr William Kitchen: Here is a plan to hold transfer tests safely in this pandemic year

His paper was a welcome injection of maturity into an otherwise frustrating and highly charged debate.

What has been labelled the “Butler Proposal” has its merits, and its drawbacks. Robbie himself welcomes critique of his proposals, and sees his paper as the beginning of a necessary conversation on the alternatives for transfer this year. I welcome the opportunity to contribute. Rather than use this writing space extolling the pros and cons of Robbie’s proposals, I wish to put forward another alternative for consideration.

Consider the following pertinent information for the proposal which comes thereafter:

1. There are approximately 8300 pupils currently enrolled to sit the AQE this year;

2. AQE currently has access to 33 test centres, and 3 overflow centres;

3. NI has 813 Primary Schools, and 196 Secondary Schools (selective and non-selective combined).

In order to allay the concerns in the context of the pandemic in which we currently find ourselves, as well as seeking a solution which is fair on the many children who have a desire to still sit the test this year (especially to reward the Herculean effort they have undertaken to prepare for it), I propose the following:

1. Every Principal of every Primary and Post-Primary school in the Province offers their school as a test centre for the administration of the AQE test for this year only;

2. These test centres are suitably risk assessed to receive a maximum of one bubble per school. No cross-contamination of school bubbles should be permitted in order to sit the test;

3. Children are offered a place at their nearest test centre, where possible. Every child must sit the test in a school different from the one they attend, to ensure no undue privilege is given to any children on the basis of test centre allocation;

4. AQE cover the costs for invigilation of the examination. In the case where additional invigilation is required beyond that which AQE can reasonably provide, the Department offers additional support in the best interests of the children who wish to take the test;

5. Those opposed to selection set aside their objections to testing in any other year, and offer children the chance to sit the test, based on parental choice, as required;

6. In order to address the concerns regarding ‘lost learning’ of the lockdowns, Primary Schools are encouraged to double-down on their efforts in test preparation and practice, supporting their test candidates with additional ‘blended-learning’ packs and sessions (virtual in the meantime, face-to-face when safe);

7. The current AQE proposals for a single test are scrapped, and the above arrangements are used to ensure that 3 tests are used, if safe and possible, to reduce the ‘high stakes’, one-chance proposal that their current position outlines;

8. In the small number of cases where there are pupils who are unable to sit one or more of the tests, Robbie Butler’s ‘Pupil Profile’ – as imperfect as it may be – is used to support the special provisions and special circumstances evidence for application to a Grammar School place.

Why, you might ask, is there is incessant demand to retain the test? I draw your attention to the warning of Anthony Health, John Ermisch, and Duncan Gallie when they opined in their book called “Understanding Social Change”, which reviewed 100 years of sociological evidence, “The main conclusion of the sociological research must be that much of this reform activity, such as the introduction of comprehensive schooling, has been ineffectual in reducing social inequalities in outcomes.” They concluded further that “it proved hard to claim that the comprehensive systems ... had either demonstrably superior effects on pupil performance than those where selection ... had been retained or an impact on class differentials”.

Retaining academic selection is the education fight of the pandemic.

Its opponents are on the wrong side of the evidence. Dropping a de facto comprehensive cohort of pupils into our non-comprehensive system – even for one year – could, if history teaches us anything, have dire consequences for our children, both in terms of social equality, and indeed in terms of their educational performance. We must remain resolute, and deliver for our children.

• Dr William H Kitchen is an academic and the author of Authority and the Teacher

• Parent: Sign my petition for test to go ahead

• Letter: This is not a vendetta against grammar schools

• Editorial Jan 6: AQE right not to give up on test

• Ben Lowry Dec 19: Covid will be used to undermine grammar schools

• Jan 6: Closing NI schools a disaster for children – principal

• Hugh McCarthy Jan 6: Education is life-changing and it is shameful to deny it to children

• Dr William Kitchen Jan 5: Scrapping the transfer test this year could be the end of grammar schools in NI

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