Is Exam Pressure taking a toll over the Children Health ?

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National Union of Teachers' report - highlights on the increasing level of anxiety among the children of age group “10 to 12” as a result of study pressure and exams. The teachers have reported that they have observed “complete meltdown” of the kids during the exam time.

Taking a Toll on Health: 

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The school level anxieties mainly build up during the exam time , when the children are often observed in tears, mental and physical sickness, nausea and to make the situation worse the competative parents exagerrate the importance of the exams and build up more pressure on their kids. They literally force their children to believe that its the grades that determine their future.

Due to excessive study pressure , the kids often underperform in the exams which lead to decreased self-esteem and is also sometimes demotivated from higher studies.

Too much of Exam Pressure: 

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A teacher from a unnamed UK school had cited live examples of kids within age brackets of 14 to 16 years have taken hasty decisions due to poor performance in exams. A13-year old kid had almost starved himself to death whereas another child had been admitted to the psychiatric wards because of the extreme level of school pressure and failure to live upto the standards of his parents. All of them were diagnosed with “Acute level of Depression.”
A survey conducted by National Union of Teachers under Merryn Herchings, emeritus professor at London Metropolitan University reflects how the tests, exams, Ofsted inspections and other accountability measures are affecting schools and what are its adverse outcomes. The results of the survey was based on the responses of about 8,000 teachers, case studies of heads, children, and a review of research and other literature sources.

Hutchings said: “The problems are caused by increased pressure from tests/exams, children’s greater awareness at younger ages of their own ‘failure’, and the increased rigour and academic demands of the curriculum.”

There has been a significant increase of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder among the school going children due to high-stakes testing. That means the school environment is practically not suited to them as it demands all hours of classroom lectures with minimum or no practical. This disorder is mostly related to mental concentration.

Christine Blower, the NUT general secretary, said: “The findings about the experiences and concerns of children and young people are shocking and sometimes upsetting.”

“The study exposes the reduction in the quality of teacher-pupil interaction, the loss of flexibility and lack of time for teachers to respond to children as individuals, the growing pressure on children to do things before they are ready, and the focus on a narrower range of subjects.” he added.

The NUT organisation working in close with the UK government had been inspecting the school exams, learning procedures and the other academic regulation is now taking the reports of the survey seriously. A lot of such surveys conducted on the school environments and the child development have suggested that the school level pressure is the main reason of concern for the children health. Too much study burden, failure of the teachers to interact with the students on the personal level are causing extra hardships in the overall development of the children.

Lucie Russell, director of campaigns at charity Young Minds, said in response to Hutchings’ findings that many of those the charity worked with “said that they feel completely defined by their grades and that is very detrimental to their well being and self-esteem”. Ofsted had never reported about the health issues faced by the students , although ministers across health and education departments have become increasingly worried about the issue.
The Department for Education said: “No one should be stressed out by exams, which is why we have scrapped modules and January assessments so young people are only entered for tests when they are truly ready.

“We are also investing in mental health services helping schools provide counseling services and support for pupils with mental health needs. This is alongside almost £5m funding for projects dedicated to helping children and young people with mental health issues.”

The verdict: 

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In the age of been what they want to- the little kids are dragged forcefully into laborious hours of studies just for the stake of higher grades that would after all defined themselves. Is this the correct way to spend the childhood?

If exam pressure or worries about college or university have lead to 2 have thoughts of suicide. Get info&support http://t.co/pqvYlFVf

— PAPYRUS (@PAPYRUS_tweets) February 2, 2013

Share tour views on how you managed to overcome study and exam pressure.

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GCSE RESULTS REVEAL A DROP

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This year the GCSE results have experienced a massive undulation after a record plunge was marked in the proportion of students receiving C grades and higher than that. The fall has been triggered by the huge rise in the number of pupils aged 15 years or even younger participating in the exams. Some say that the tough science papers are also the cause for the drop. Meanwhile it has also been found that students pursuing multiple courses at a time have made it badly in the exams.

An insight into reports show that this year’s GCSE entries achieving grades between A*-C stood at 68.1%; thus, marking a fall by 1.3% of what was recorded in the year 2012. Last year around 69.4% of students had managed to achieve grades between A*-C. Meanwhile a rise has been noted in the number of pupils achieving grades lying between and A* and C since the year 1988. Furthermore, it has been found that the numbers of A* grade achievers have fallen by .5%.

The Joint Council for Qualification has published results revealing that female candidates have superseded their male counterparts at grades C or above. It was during the year 2003 that people witnessed female students outperforming males ones. The overview of the report has been mentioned below:

         (A*-C achievers)

Girls                                      Boys

72.3%                                  63.7%

         (A* achievers)

Girls                                      Boys

8.3%                                     5.3%

Now, this explains that girls are ahead of boys in terms of the academic grades they have achieved in this year’s GCSE. Michael Turner, JCQ’s director has emphasized on the following factors to indicate why this year’s GCSE has experienced a drop. Take a look at them:

• Considerable increase in the 15 year old entries
• Science specifications encompassing greater challenges for students
•  Early entry into mathematics
•   Multiple entry into mathematics

These factors not only have an impact on the entries but also on the results. It has been learnt that the massive fall can crucially affect schools which are struggling to retain their floor standards considered by the Department of Education. If a school falls below this floor standard it will trigger an inspection to be conducted by the Ofsted, ultimately compelling poorly performing schools to being converted to academies. 

A school will fundamentally be considered below the floor standard if it fails to show the following:

•         40% pupils achieving a standard C grade or higher than that in minimum 5 GCSEs (including mathematics and English)
• 
  
•      An overall progress in both disciplines (Mathematics and English)

One of the biggest causes for the down fall is the huge young enrollments. According to the JCQ the figures have shot up to a massive 39% hike for students aged 15 or below taking up the board examinations, totaling up to around 806,000. Furthermore the JCQ reports showed that the results of the 16 year olds remained stable. Declination was marked in exam results of 15 year old pupils. Overall, the figures have also shown a sharp rise in the number of students who have participated in multiple examinations. 

Source: www.theguardian.com/education/2013/aug/22/gcse-results-2013-record-fall-c-grades-higher