4) Texas – home of progressive thinking

As we have seen from the gifted and talented scheme in the UK, simply defining the top few percent of children in every school as gifted and talented can create anomalies and complications but I thought that the use of that approach in Texas seems to have achieved some genuinely innovative practice http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/comment/story/0,,2273636,00.html . Whatever the government intention, I’m worried that we are about to put in place a system of qualifications in the UK that will entrench the existing class system in higher education. Private schools are rapidly moving away from A levels to the new Cambridge Pre-U qualification http://education.guardian.co.uk/alevels/story/0,,2273115,00.html . IN state schools, the middle classes will continue to pursue A levels while the rest will be steered to diplomas. The result will be a three tier HE sector, with the old prestigious universities recruiting the Pre-U students, the middle range universities recruiting the A level students, while the old polytechnics will admit the diploma students. Once again, the British class system will be re-enforced and graduates class coded by their university. Rather than that scenario I think we should seriously consider the Texan alternative, which builds on student potential and achievement, rather than family background and school.