Don’t yield to pushy parents

IAIN Macwhirter dismisses competitive exams as the worst form of assessment and then rubbishes every other method.

It is wrong to yield to pushy parents and assertive pupils when it comes to assessment. Carefully monitored external examinations assessed by professionals who do not know the pupils whose papers they are marking is the fairest form of assessment. There should be no appeals, only resits for those failing the first time.

Covid has severely damaged a lot of things, including schooling and assessment, but throwing the baby out with the contaminated bath water does no good to the baby.

John Kelly, Edinburgh.