Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Targets are bad for your health

OK, as my regular vistors will know, I spend a lot of time grinding my teeth over the misuse of statistics, targets and league tables. Last week I read this brief posting from geepeemama, that could have been devised as a demonstration of the fallout from stupid targets, and how they can produce precisely the wrong effect (in this case in the NHS.) Read it.

I don't think stupid is to strong a word.

2 comments:

Mr Ken said...

I think targets are the death of learning, maybe not by design but certainly by outcome.

And to see schools dropping real, non-fakeable subjects like French or Music in favour of the latest shake n' bake GNVQ in "Laundry and Linen Studies" or somesuch thing, purely in order to crawl an inch or two further up the greasy pole of league tables, indicates to me that the educational establishment is abdicating its core responsibilities.

What to do, Pepperpot? What to do?

Anonymous said...

Regarding targets, I am in the proces of setting up an e petition on the website of 10 Downing Street with the purpose of abolishing targets from Education. It should appear within the next 10 days. Please look and sign if you agree with my petition. Great blog.