Simon at A Certain Measure of Perfection posted this link to the UK National Year 2 Grammar Test. Click through and take the test we are asking our seven year olds to be able to complete. Expecting it to be a breeze, I failed abysmally, with only 68%.
Source: Can You Beat a 7 year old at Grammar?
Half of the tenses and some of the grammatical terms I had never even heard of in English classes, only when learning French… yet English was always one of my best subjects at school. My memory is pretty good too, so I’m fairly certain they were never referred to at all. In fact, I am fairly certain that an understanding of anything other than the basics of spelling, punctuation and the difference between noun, verb and adjective was not even approached until we were in our teens, when the subject was divided into English Language and English Lit.
I remember primary school very well. I was always a reader, long before school started, so I found the adventures of Peter, Jane and Pat the Dog fairly tame, yet those were the standard-issue reading books for that age group. They only really made any impression on me because we had Red Setters at home. By that time I was reading ‘proper’ books… with fairies, dragons, magic…and a certain Lion who could be found through the back of a wardrobe.
Peter, Jane and Pat from Ladybird Books
I also remember English Literature classes and the way that focussing on dissecting the detail and function of words completely spoiled several classic authors for me, including Hardy and Dickens… neither of whom I have ever been able to read since with any sense of enjoyment. And that is a crying shame. In fact, it is practically criminal.
I have to wonder whether or not we are doing the right thing by expecting young minds to tear words and phrases into neatly labelled pieces rather than learning to enjoy their flowing beauty. Not only that, but they are then expected to perform well in formal tests on the subjects thus studied. I’m afraid I agree with Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, in a recent interview:
‘We already have the most tested pupils in Europe – such endless testing stifles creativity and is ruining many children’s experience of learning.’*
Teach small children a love of and respect for books. Let them learn to lose themselves in those flights of fancy and imagination that will stimulate their own. Let them learn a love of learning that will stay with them lifelong and keep that childlike eagerness to explore the magic and possibilities of the world around them. There is time enough for the technical side of language later, once that love has been instilled and the desire to know how things work is already there.
Above all, let our children be children while they can… let them paint and create and make a mess while expressing their own imagination, let them learn through play… and run and laugh and explore the great wide world in all its wonder. There is time enough for testing technical knowledge when they are older.
And if you wonder why this has me so fired up… go on… take that test designed for our seven year old children and see how much pressure they are under to conform to governmental standards and ask yourself where their childhood is going…
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Just got 81% punctuation prefect..wow! UK year 2 grammar test😂
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Better than me 🙂
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I got exactly the same result as you. My excuse is that we were not taught grammar in school. They discontinued teaching it in American school more than 50 years ago. Fortunately, like you, I know how to use words, even if I can’t always define them correctly. Also interesting to see some of the differences between American and British usage and spelling. Practice is never spelled “practise” in the U.S.
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Yes, I was struck by the American/ British difference too.
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My first books were the Peter and Jane books.
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They were a great introduction to reading… Though some of the social images were in need of changes.
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This is crazy for a seven-year-old. Yikes!
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I agree!
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I can’t believe they are expecting kids at 7 to know so much grammar. Having said that, like you I was good at English, but we never learned grammar particularly in senior school. My knowledge came from Latin, which was very neatly broken down and exact. In junior school (7–11) we had spelling tests every week and I usually scored 19 or 20. It was a bad week if I only got 18 😦 But that was the nearest we got to grammar. I don’t remember anything in prep school (4–7).
Re the last article, we also had times table tests weekly too, and that included up to 12×12 nearly 40 years ago so we were ahead of the national curriculum there.
I was surprised, looking at my neighbours English schoolwork some years ago (in Spain so it was a second language), to see their work being broken down in similar ways.
I don’t think it’s a bad idea … but 7?!!!
I would like to see foreign language teaching started much earlier though. Kids abroad start English at a very early age.
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We learned times tables up to 12×12 back then too and it stands you in good stead when maths starts getting complicated! I also started learning French at 7.. And that left me well ahead of later classmates, and with a live of the language too.
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I always thought I was pretty good at English, not any more! I failed horrendously at this test, and cannot believe they expect 7 year olds to be able to understand it, let alone pass this test!
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Communication through language and the ability to name its parts have little in common in my view.
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Well, used to get so mad with misplaced apostrophes but when I realise how shocking my knowledge of grammar actually is, I have got no room to moan!!!! I think you have got the right view, Sue 🙂
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I know… odd things like that get to me too 🙂 But apparently, a seven year old will be able to tell me where I’m going wrong 😉
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Ha! Yes, they will put us all to shame! 🙂
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I’d just like to have words with whoever dreamed this testing up…
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I know, it is far too much pressure to put on our kids. Ridiculous!
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I agree… I can’t see the teachers being overly enthusiastic either.
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No, because it is a hell of a lot of work for them to get these children to understand and be able to work to such impossibly unattainable standards!
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…and all the form-filling that goes with it too, when I would think they would rather be teaching…
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Oh, of course, the form filling! All the targets to meet! Yes, I am sure they would rather be teaching. 🙂
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…or even having their evenings to themselves…
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Didn’t think of that, but of course you are right, not enough hours in the day as it is for them
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No… not any more…
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These tests are awful… We are living the horror of the pressures daily, as my son is in year six now…
Did you see my open letter to Nicky Morgan, education secretary?
https://butismileanyway.wordpress.com/2016/02/13/an-open-letter-to-nicky-morgan-uk-education-secretary/
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I will read both links when I’m home, Ritu. There has to be a better way !
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I agree… how about no tests!
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Now that would be a novel approach… 😉
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I chose my degree because it wasn’t exam based. I don’t work well under pressure!
I think my son is like me too.
He’s a clever boy but academia makes him look stupid… and these tests are ridiculous!
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I don’t mi d exams. But I don’t think they are ever a reflection of understanding… Only knowledge.
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True…
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And it’s. It just the literacy side… The numeracy is just as bad!
https://butismileanyway.wordpress.com/2016/02/16/the-fallout-from-curriculum-changes-how-it-affects-real-people/
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Ps… I got 63%! This would be better for year 6 not year 2 children!!!!
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Not good at all, only 54%. But one answer was the US spelling so that shouldn’t count!
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I really don’t recall being taught half this stuff…
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I’m sure I wasn’t, but my schooling left a lot to be desired, back then…
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So did mine…but that may have had more to do with me than the teachers 😉
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In primary school we were taught grammar and every Friday (when I was in P 7 so ten years old) we had a test from a book called Objective English. I loved it – parsing sentences, clauses, parts of speech. Looking at the test questions today a lot of words are unfamiliar as they have changed (from comments above, I’m not the only one) but the pupils taking this test will be familiar with the terms because that’s what they are being taught now. Having said all that I do agree there is too much emphasis today on formal tests as a way of judging children’s abilities. Our Objective English tests were a bit of fun.
I’m also wondering how easy it is for teachers to teach this grammar when they probably didn’t learn it themselves?
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That last is an excellent point, Mary?
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We had Dick and Jane, their dog was Spot, 8 am fairly certain. There is an atrocious am out of young peopl, my boss and boss’ boss say every day, “You was. . .” And ask, “Was you doing. . .?” Ooh, how I cringe.
They also say, “of (a preposition) I,” instead “of me:” The tv journalists get this wrong in “There is a photo of James Dean and I.” It is “me!” in the use after a preposition, in a sentence. Then when someone is knocking on a door they answer, “It is me!”instead of “It is I.” Sounds like they need Shakespeare to help them, Sue. 🙂
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I feel many of us would fall way behind…including those of us who like to think we know how to write.
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When I’m writing I’m immediately transported back to P7 and wishing I could remember the grammar lessons! But also remember having to pull poetry apart; a big ask for a 13 yr old! And yes, our poor kids, what in the world are we doing to them and then wondering why they are the saddest in Europe?
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I’d rather have a child who knows how to laugh…
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
I certainly didn’t pass this test!
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Thanks for reblogging Chris
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Welcome Sue – Ritu had a similar rant (I mean POST) from a teacher and parent perspective 😃
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So I see… I think it needs highlighting… Along with the comment about how our children’s happiness measures up…
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Indeed…
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I think they’re just thankful when 7 year olds can say “G’day mate!” here in Australia. I scored pretty poorly in that test but I did pass. I didn’t know a lot of the terms. Both of my kids have serious trouble with spelling. Not sure why that is.
A old uni friend of mine, who is now a sub-editor with Reader’s Digest, wrote an interesting article about Grammar here: http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/australian-readers-digest-chief-subeditor-donyale-harrison-on-why-you-cant-spell/news-story/4e828c8acb12941c4eb480986d582d45
xx Rowena
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Thanks Rowena, I’ll have a read when I’m home!
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hahaha recocochran my last boss also said ‘you was’!
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81 is not looking bad now after all. But really terminology like PROGRESSIVE PAST etc is v unhelpful – and ADVERBIAL (adverbial what?)
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Maybe actually this is why so many kids come out of school as barely functionally literate?
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It does make you wonder…
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I was thinking about something actually. What has happened to our minds? We can’t remember anything these days. If you trhink about the oral traditions that when eventually resulted in Homer, Gilgamesh, the Irish hero poems etc they relied on people being able to m,emorise huge volumes of text. What happened to this ability? Furthermore, not one of these storytellers probably ever stopped and said ‘I could have used a progressive perfect there!’
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Lack of training, I fear. I used to be able to remember hundreds of clients’ telephone numbers and details… Since the advent of the mobile phone, I can seldom remember my own.
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I think very soon we won’t know what day of teh week it is until we log on, let alone be able to recite a poem for several hours without a prompt
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I still like to memorise poetry.
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And the SUBJUNCTIVE is more or less voluntary in English, the most minute modification of meaning probably not being picked up by most modern English speakers
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Love this post Sue. All so very true, the other thing I fear with this enforced method is kids forget to enjoy the actual reading and writing when focussing on so much technical information. Although the technical information is important months or years after a book is read it is not that which you remember it for, it is the story contained within the pages (and the imagination of the reader). The enjoyment of reading and learning needs to be a priority for youngsters and should be encouraged.
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That is my main concern here too..
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I think it’s the same in every subject (as an ex-teacher). I did not become a teacher of geography so that kids could tick multichoice boxes. I wanted thgem to think about things
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To educe rather than impose …
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exactly ex – ducere, lead something out
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Makes more sense than trying to hammer it in.
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I got 72%. I got a couple wrong because I used a North American grammar rule which I was brought up with. A great exercise.
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It always surprises me how much difference there is between American and British English… and how often my computer signals perfectly acceptable spelling as ‘wrong’ 😉
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Reblogged this on Don Massenzio's Blog and commented:
As the dad of a seven year old, I can definitely relate to this. Try the test and see how you do.
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Thanks Don.
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Great post Sue. I refuse to take the test and add to the humiliation I felt at being told off for incorrectly using the subjunctive by a flat mate ( wh0 had a private school education rather than my grammar school – ironic title that). The first time I heard of a gerund was reading Molesworth’s Down with Skool. I just don’t want to have my ignorance reinforced thanks.
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I made the mistake of taking it, Geoff… and was appalled at the skewed priorities we seem to be teaching…
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Several terms I’m not familiar with here too… At the age of 7 I don’t recall doing much grammar at all, if any. Scored 50/50 in the test, and even now I sometimes have to check up on my grammar as I write. I’m all for better grammar teaching, but at 7, that’s far too steep. Let our kids love reading and writing first!
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Agreed, Lisa… this is enough to put any child off reading and writing…
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I consider myself a grammar nerd. I got 45%.
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And our children are supposed to know all this..
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I didn’t dare take the test 😁 It’s a sadness, how tested children are now, as well as the added pressure it puts on teachers.
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I would think both could make better use of the time.
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Absolutely.
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Well, that was humbling, 54%! I haven’t had grammar instruction since the 8th grade and all I remember was diagramming sentences. Most has faded from memory. Americans are much poorer students than they used to be, falling lower in world ranks with each passing year. I was shocked to learn how much time is devoted to standardized testing. Somehow, I don’t think this is the answer!
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No…neither do I, Eliza..
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OMG. I thought I’d do well but I didn’t even understand the words to the questions. I passed by 5 points less than you. Seven-year-olds know this stuff? I shake my head.
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Seems very odd to fill their heads with technicalities before they have really learned to express themselves…
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Yup. I second that.
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🙂
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In a perversely proud way, I’m delighted to say that I got 27%. Frankly, it takes me all my time to remember what a noun, verb and adjective are, let alone all the other technical points.
I used to criticise incoherent job applications I was sent when I ran my own business, particularly from young people. Now I realise they’re so bogged down in the technical stuff they’ve lost the ability to get their message across clearly.
I always thought I was quite good at English, but now I realise I’m only good at communicating. But I’ll settle for that.
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That is the bottom line, isn’t it…communication. Without the ability to do so, the technical stuff is of no use whatsoever.
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I got them all right, but it’s definitely not a test for 7-year olds. I work in a world where grammar is important. Many of the people I work with (mostly graduates) are unable to communicate well, because their grammar is so poor. I support the teaching of grammar in schools, but I think it’s daft to give a test to 7-year olds that few of their teachers could pass. I would, however, be happier if I thought the teachers could pass the test and were then passing on the proper use of English to their pupils.
Part of me thinks this is a hoax.
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I’d like to think it was a hoax, April… but sadly not. I like to read a well written piece, but I feel very strongly that effective communication is more important than knowing the labels for parts of speech. Particularly for children of that age-group.There is time enough for that later, once a love of reading, an ability to write and hopefully a love of learning has been instilled.
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