One noteworthy feature of the educational
attainment target is that--even if it is a mid- to long-term target--it does, in fact, leave national governments with only a few years to act in a substantive way.
However, this change amounts to little more than a re-classification of the previous underlying detail: 'All the essential elements present in ATs 1-4 |the previous Attainment Targets~ were retained'.(63) The 'identification of needs' (
Attainment Target 1 in the previous NC) together with 'Generating a design' (previous
Attainment Target 2)--in our view, the source of much of the problem experienced in teaching this subject--are toned down to 'investigating, clarifying and specifying the design task'.(64) But the toning down is slight: at primary school the target is reduced to 'investigating and clarifying the task' (not specifying it) so as to 'improve practice and make this aspect of the work more manageable'.(65)
The recent introduction of ICT-related
attainment targets and the growing availability of ICT hardware and software in schools can be considered as indications of an increasing policy awareness of the need to address the digital activities and practices of young people to a certain extent.
If, based on judgements of levels for
attainment targets in reading, writing and mathematics, teachers reach an overall judgement of level 2, they should then consider whether the performance is just into level 2 (2C), securely at level 2 (2B) or at the top of level 2 (2A).
Start accepting that the Liverpool city region, as other cities round the UK, as across the globe, has to face up to its local position and begin developing properly targeted local skills, rather than slavishly following national
attainment targets designed to find Oxbridge fodder.
As a database solution, teachers can instantly access information on particular pupils and the software has impressive capabilities for setting individual
attainment targets." One of the major advantages of this new software is that teachers can view their pupils' attainment in a graphical format, which can provide simple comparison of performance levels within a class.
Reading the text is a bit distracting at times for a reader unfamiliar with the British system, because of the constant reference to British educational terminology and abbreviations, especially those connected with the National Curriculum (e.g.,
Attainment Targets, Key Stages, Statutory Orders, DES, IT).
Students' performance and progress toward
attainment targets, to be set for each subject, would be assessed through nationally prescribed tests, which all students would be required to take at ages 7, 11, 14, and 16.(6)
Students' progress through the curriculum is divided into four "key stages." "
Attainment targets" identify "the knowledge, skills and understanding which pupils of different abilities and maturities are expected to have achieved" at each age (Graham 1988).
"This could include traditional educational
attainment targets as well as a whole other range of social measures."
This curriculum was launched in September 2007 by the Flemish Government and is structured in terms of
attainment targets. These are defined as minimum objectives regarding the ICT knowledge, skills, and attitudes viewed by the government as necessary for students in compulsory education.
The breadth to be assessed would--within the three main
attainment targets of Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing--include fiction and non fiction; modern and classic literature; Shakespeare; poetry, prose and drama texts; media and moving image; drama and ICT.
