Science minister Lord Drayson: “no dumbing down on my watch”
Posted by Neville Reed on Fri 5 Dec 2008Categories: Education , RSC in the media | 1 Comment
At long last, someone in Government is taking talk of falling science exam standards seriously. At an Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) press conference on Thursday, Lord Drayson – the UK Science Minister – reportedly said ‘No dumbing down on my watch. We need to make sure that we provide the stretch for the brightest and best” in a reference to a question about recent media coverage of standards not being what they were. A BBC news report of his remarks can be found here.
So the RSC’s petition and Five-Decade Challenge report have made an impact at the highest level. We’ve managed to start the debate about what we assess in exams and what is needed for the UK to remain internationally competitive.
Science minister Lord Drayson
Nearly 5000 people have signed our online petition. There have been comments for and against our stance. One of our RSC members has resigned, to my sadness, but many others have written to thank the RSC for what it has done. We’ve had support from teachers, scientists and the public. We have people picking holes in how we’ve done it.
But no one, absolutely no one, has said that it was wrong to ask the question – to challenge the current perceived wisdom and the status quo. Our members want the RSC to campaign and that’s what we’ve done!
So what do we want next? We, like Lord Drayson, want our young talented scientists to be stretched. We want well provisioned, modern laboratories – with technical support in schools. We want well supported science teachers to nurture and develop the next generation of citizens, some of whom will become scientists of tomorrow but all of whom will use science in their everyday lives.
For this we need a modern curriculum – and we need a better assessment framework that demonstrates abilities in problem solving, critical thinking and the application of mathematics. It’s not a lot to ask. Let’s get all sides – teachers, industry, examiners and other experts together to make it happen.
Maybe Ofqual could take the lead…
Mon 1 Jun 2009 at 09:43
In the recent House of Commons Select Report on the National Curriculum (March 2009), the select committee sat they want to see “much greater emphasis on intelligence gathering and research and development and less on monitoring and complience.” I think this has major implications for the RSC. The Science Education and Skills Department is well-placed to make a significant contribution to gathering examples of good practice in chemistry education.