A new report suggests that many children who pass the 11-plus have benefited from extensive tutoring, and that this isn’t fair, because it works against poorer families who can’t afford extra help. I can’t say I’m surprised by the research, and totally agree that it isn’t completely “fair”.The question, of course, is what we mean by “fair”. When it comes to assessing children, there are definite issues here because tutoring can distort test scores (that’s the point, after all). But on a personal level, some parents may think it’s unfair not to give their child “help”. After all, they assume that everyone else is doing so.
It’s also ironic, says Professor Brendan Bunting, a psychologist who has looked into this very issue, because grammar schools were initially set up to be egalitarian. The idea, he says, was that testing for grammar schools would be “tapping into something more than an ability to learn”. It was to be about natural talent, so there would be no point coaching.
