“Educational assessment must overcome a central dilemma, … If there are no consequences attached to a test, then it will do little to motivate healthy change within the educational system; however, if the result of an assessment is highly consequential, then it may engender unproductive or undesirable outcomes such as narrowing the curriculum, “teaching to test,” and weakening the role of teacher” (Braun, Henry, et al (2006) Improving Education Through Assessment, Innovation, and Evaluation. American Academy of Arts and Sciences).
Given its nature, the decision to change the placement system in one year appears to me amoral and possibly illegal, for as far as I am aware, the ministry has made little or no effort to explain to the population what happens to the legitimate expectations of those who have already done assessments at grades 2 and 4.
Competition for places, particularly at the top schools, is usually very tight. Many times students tie for places and one mark can make a huge difference to which school a pupil is awarded. Simple logic would seem to indicate the existence of a problem.
For easy appreciation, let’s say that at grades 2 and grades 4 I averaged 95%. But for one reason or another, I was only able to gain 75% at this year’s assessment. Under the new arrangement I will be awarded 75% as my final score.