New school ‘intelligence’ test causes concern in Lenzie

Published on 16/01/2013 15:02

A WORRIED dad has raised concerns about a new test that has been introduced at an East Dunbartonshire secondary school.

Lenzie Academy has brought in the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) for first year pupils.

A concerned dad contacted the Herald to say parents had not been told about the test.

He was only made aware of it because he was on the parent council at the time.

He is also worried that the test will be used to measure the performance of individual pupils.

The dad said: “The primary schools informed parents about the introduction of standardised testing in P7, so Lenzie Academy should inform parents that they have tested the S1 year group.”

The dad has raised his concerns with Lenzie Academy head teacher Brian Paterson and East Dunbartonshire Council.

He added: “The CAT is not just another test like a history or chemistry test – it is a standardised test that means that an individual’s score is compared to the population.

“My concern is that it is used to predict the future performance of pupils based on measuring their cognitive ability – a euphemism for intelligence.”

Gordon Currie, head of education at East Dunbartonshire Council, said: “The Cognative Abilities Test (CAT) has recently been introduced into Lenzie Academy.

“This is not a new test and has been successfully carried out in other schools throughout East Dunbartonshire.”

See this week’s paper for more on this story.

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Take a look at tomorrow’s Kirkintilloch Herald front page – May 22, 2013

New school ‘intelligence’ test causes concern in Lenzie

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