The Education Reform act was introduced in 1988 and is sometimes known as ‘the baker act’. This act made many important changes, some of them are still in practice today. The Education Reform act introduced the notion of a National Curriculum. “The national curriculum is to be a part of the whole curriculum, for all registered pupils of compulsory school age at every maintained school”(Leonard 1988) Students had to study three core subjects (English, Maths and Science) and six optional foundation subjects (Music, Art, PE, History, Geography, and Technology).(ed England website) The idea was to make an education system where all students had equal opportunities. However teachers did not help create this Curriculum. It made many teachers …show more content…
SATS (Standard Attainment tests) were introduced. These were mandatory exams for all students when they reached the end of their key stage. (Aged 7, 11, 14 and 16). It also introduced GCSE’s to replace ‘O’levels and CSES. These exams caused many concerns with teachers. Some believed that testing children could put them under too much pressure. Others thought that teachers would not be doing their jobs properly as they would be teaching children how to pass their exams and not teaching them knowledge. Another problem was that results of the exams were presented in league tables. This caused unfair comparisons as each school is very different. It also puts children under too much stress. The 1988 education act saw the establishment of City Technology Colleges (CTC). CTCs were independent schools which were aimed at students aged between 11-19 with special emphasis on Science and Technology. There was also City Colleges for the technology of Arts which gave special importance to Arts.as noted in Leonards “1988 education reform act, a tactical guide for schools” CTCs were similar to LEA schools, however they were newer, had much better equipment, had a greater budget, staff wages were significantly higher and there were fewer curricular