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This report from the Education Committee looks at the administration of examinations for 15-19 year olds in England. The Committee expresses serious concerns about incentives in the exam system and about competition on syllabus content. Incentives in the system should be changed so the downward pressure through the competition of exam boards is mitigated. The Committee considers a number of options to change incentives, including: (i) A single board. This offers a simpler system, with no risk of competition, but the Committee believes the cost, risk and disruption outweigh the benefits; (ii) Franchising of subjects to exam boards. This removes syllabus competition, but again has downsides; (3) Or the current system of multiple boards. The Committee sees no benefit in competition on syllabus content, but the setting and marking of exams and associated administration, if properly regulated, could generate incentives and drive quality up, offering value for money to schools and colleges.The Committee also recommends the development of national syllabuses, accredited by Ofqual. The syllabuses would be developed by exam boards in conjunction with learned bodies and employer organisations and could therefore retain the benefits of competition on quality and the incentive for exam boards to innovate.
Assessment of educational achievement, whether by traditional examinations or by teachers in schools, attracts considerable public interest, particularly when it is associated with ‘high stakes’ outcomes such as university entry or selection for employment. When the individual’s results do not chime with their or their teachers’ expectations, doubts creep in about the process of assessment that has arrived at this result. However, educational assessment is made up of many layers of complexity, which are not always clear to the general public, including teachers, students, and parents, and which are not easily understood outside of the expert assessment community. These layers may be organized in highly co-dependent relationships that include reliability, validity, human judgment, and errors, and the uses and interpretations of the various types of assessment. No-one could reasonably argue that the principles and complexities of educational assessment should be core learning in public education, but there is a growing realization that trust in the UK assessment system is under some threat as the media and others sensationalize or politicize any problems that arise each year. This book offers the first comprehensive overview of how the general public is considered to perceive and understand a wide variety of aspects of educational assessment, and how this understanding may be improved. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Oxford Review of Education.
The 2012 GCSE English results prompted significant controversy, which ultimately resulted in an application for judicial review. This report sets out the background to these events and identifies lessons to be learned. The problems with GCSE English can be traced back to the 2007-09 development phase of the qualification- in particular the turbulence which resulted from the shift away from a mostly linear to a modular system, combined with a high proportion of controlled assessment and generous marking tolerances. Exam board experts raised concerns at the time, but these were not acted upon by the regulator (the then-interim Ofqual). Further difficulties arose because of pressures from the school accountability system. The problems experienced with GCSE English in 2012 highlighted serious weaknesses in the moderation of speaking and listening, with consequences for grade awarding. The current status of Ofqual, as an independent regulator accountable to Parliament, is the right one. However, the Coalition Government is bringing in wholesale changes to GCSEs and A levels, to a tight timetable and at the same time. Ofqual must have systems in place. The Committee is also concerned that there is a rush towards separate exam systems for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, without careful reflection on what might be lost, or consensus that this is the right thing to do.
Concern about the future of a democratic society is not new. However, the commitment to equip young citizens with the knowledge and skills to enable them to be vigilant, to do something, and to speak up, is. The purpose of Citizenship Education is ultimately to contribute to the continuance and development of just and democratic societies, with vibrant and active engagement of citizens. Citizenship Education is education about democracy, but more importantly it is education for democracy. This highly practical and passionate book outlines the essential elements of teaching Citizenship effectively. It covers: - teaching and learning Citizenship - planning to teach Citizenship - implementing whole school initiatives - assessment in Citizenship education, and much more. This is essential reading for all those involved in Citizenship Education in secondary schools. 'Overall I was engaged and interested throughout...it left me feeling empowered as a new Citizenship teacher.' Harsharan Tung, NQT
Debates in Mathematics Education explores the major issues that mathematics teachers encounter in their daily lives. It engages with established and contemporary debates, promotes and supports critical reflection and aims to stimulate both novice and experienced teachers to reach informed judgements and argue their point of view with deeper theoretical knowledge and understanding. Written by experts in the field of mathematics education, it investigates and offers fresh insight into topics of central importance, including: Gender, social inequality and mathematics Mathematics, politics and climate change The history and culture of mathematics Using popular culture in the mathematics classroom The concept of ‘ability’ and its impact on learning What we mean by ‘teaching for understanding’ Choosing and using examples in teaching The fitness of formal examinations. Designed to stimulate discussion and support you in your own research, writing and practice, Debates in Mathematics Education will be a valuable resource for any student or practising teacher engaged in initial teacher training, continuing professional development or Masters level study. It also has much to offer to those leading initial teacher education programmes, and to beginning doctoral students looking for a survey of the field of mathematics education research.
This new and updated second edition of Debates in Mathematics Education explores the major issues that mathematics teachers encounter in their daily lives. By engaging with established and contemporary debates, this volume promotes and supports critical reflection and aims to stimulate both novice and experienced teachers to reach informed judgements and argue their point of view with deeper theoretical knowledge and understanding. Divided into five accessible sections, this book investigates and offers fresh insight into topics of central importance in mathematics education, with this second edition including new discussions and chapters on: Classic and contemporary issues of pedagogy, politics, philosophy and sociology of mathematics education International comparisons of achievement Digital technologies for teaching Mastery in mathematics Pop culture and mathematics Whether mathematics can be harmful Designed to stimulate discussion and support you in your own research, writing and practice through suggested questions and activities throughout, Debates in Mathematics Education will be a valuable resource for any student or practising teacher, and those engaged in initial teacher education, continuing professional development or Master's level study. This book also has much to offer to those leading mathematics departments in schools and initial teacher education programmes, and to beginning doctoral students looking for a survey of the field of mathematics education research.
Written by the man whose signature is on millions of exam certificates, Cheats, Choices & Dumbing Down lifts the lid on the UK's complex exams and qualifications system. Whether you're studying for exams, or are a parent, teacher, governor or administrator, this eye-opening book will be a valuable guide. It deals with the main qualifications in the UK, including GCSE, A Level, BTEC, the Diploma, International Baccalaureate, the English Baccalaureate and other vocational and professional qualifications. Read it to find out: How to achieve the best results Whether some subjects are easier than others The truth about 'dumbing down' and educational standards What examiners are looking for - and how they decide what grade to award Why millions of exam questions are marked by non-teachers How to claim an advantage and challenge grades How people cheat - and the consequences of getting caught What the future holds for exams and qualifications
Educational assessment is important. But in the twenty-first century it is easy to feel that schooling and other phases of education are shaped entirely by certain assessments, and that assessment is only about exam results. The idea that test grades can accurately describe the aims and outcomes of education is unfair and reductive. Yet it is a pervasive and persuasive discourse. This book is about such discourses - the stories we tell each other - and how they impact public trust and confidence in educational assessment. It explains the roots and nature of assessment discourses, and proposes a restructuring of the debates in order to rebuild public confidence. It aims to challenge dominant assessment discourses and demands a more nuanced, informed debate about what happens in and beyond schools, and how this influences public thinking. Questioning the status quo needs buy-in from policymakers, teachers, parents and students, and from the broader public: from journalists, you, me, our friends and our children. Using examples from international settings to explore the nature of trust in assessment discourses, Rebuilding Public Confidence in Educational Assessment shows how these discourses can be reframed so that all aspects of the assessment system - policymaking, school planning, home practice with students - can be undertaken with confidence.
The UK Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) worked for ten years to improve outcomes for learners in schools and other sectors through high quality research. One outcome of individual projects and across-Programme thematic work was the development of ten ‘evidence-informed’ principles for effective pedagogy. Synopses of these principles have been widely disseminated, particularly to practitioners. However, the evidence and reasoning underpinning them has not yet been fully explained. This book fills this gap by providing a scholarly account of the research evidence that informed the development of these principles, as well as offering some evidence of early take-up and impact. It also includes responses from highly-respected researchers throughout the world in order to locate the work in the broader international literature, to extend it by drawing on similar work elsewhere, to provide critique and to stimulate further development and debate. Principles for Effective Pedagogy contributes to international dialogue on effective teaching and learning, providing a focus for scholarly comment, sharing of expertise and knowledge accumulation. This book was originally published as a special issue of Research Papers in Education.