How much control should the state have over educational assessment?
Over the past eighteen years, the number of changes to England’s education and assessment policy made by the state is overwhelming. With the establishment of Ofqual, continued crises within the UK assessment system and the ongoing discussion of standards, a recent Cambridge Assessment conference addressed the crucial issue: how far should the state control educational assessment?
The conference, which took place in Cambridge on 19 October, brought together nearly 200 assessment professionals and public policy experts. It was opened by Cambridge Assessment’s Group CEO Simon Lebus who commented: “One of Ofqual’s main objectives, written into the legislation, is to promote public confidence in the qualification system, and there is no doubt this is at a low ebb.
“Only last week, Terry Leahy, Chief Executive of Tesco, attacked standards in British schools and Michael Rake, Chairman of BT, called for GCSEs and A levels to be replaced. However, I do not believe the arrangements introduced by the new legislation will be sufficient on their own to restore trust.
“This is partly because the long hand of central control continues to exert its influence through Government ownership of the curriculum. Whilst there is a legitimate issue of accountability here, the realities of bureaucratic activism and the need to reconcile competing interests among stakeholders make this self-defeating. Originally well intentioned efforts to ensure consistent minimum standards soon lead to overbearing and overloaded programmes of study.”
The conference included engaging keynote presentations by Professor Alison Wolf who has a special interest in the relationship between education and the labour market, and Professor Robin Alexander who has recently completed the Cambridge Primary Review. Seminars led by experts including Isabel Nisbet, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Ofqual, and Dr John Allan, Policy Manager, Scottish Qualifications Authority, addressed key matters such as international comparisons, university admissions and accountability.
The conference presentations and opening remarks can be downloaded through the appropriate links to the left of this page. A selection of podcasts can be found below - to download the podcast to your computer, right-click and press 'save as':
To hear the Opening Remarks by Cambridge Assessment CEO Simon Lebus, please download the podcast (mp3 2.47 Mb).
To hear the Keynote presentation by Professor Alison Wolf of King's College London please download the podcast (mp3 14.2 Mb).
To hear a seminar and discussion 'Where do good qualifications come from' by Greg Watson, CEO of OCR, please download the podcast of the talk (mp3 7.23 Mb) and podcast of the discussion (mp3 4.05 Mb).
To hear a seminar and discussion 'The "ping" factor: what does it mean to maintain standards in composite qualifications' by Isabel Nisbet of Ofqual, please download the podcast of the talk (mp3 9.85 Mb) and podcast of the discussion (mp3 3.03 Mb).
To hear a seminar 'Working Outside the Regulatory Box: The Case of University Admissions Tests' by the Cambridge Assessment Research Division, please download the podcast (mp3 9.77 Mb).
To hear a seminar ''An everlasting, unconsummated relationship? The State's desperate attempt to involve employers in VET' by Professor Lorna Unwin of the Institute of Education at the University of London, please download the podcast (mp3 10.7 Mb).
To hear a seminar 'The role of international assessments' by the Dubai Knowledge & Human Development Authority, please download the podcast (mp3 269Kb).
To hear a seminar 'Issues of innovation and control in high stakes assessment in Scotland' by Dr John Allan of the Scottish Qualifications Authority, please download the podcast (mp3 9.12 Mb).
To hear a seminar 'Accountability in the Netherlands' by Dr Anton A Béguin of Cito Institute of Educational Measurement, please download the podcast (mp3 10.9 Mb).
To hear a seminar 'Why do we need qualifications? A comparison between the US and the UK' by Tina Isaacs of Ofqual, please download the podcast (mp3 9.48 Mb).
To hear a seminar 'Assessment in schools. Fit for purpose?' by Professor Mary James of the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge, please download the podcast (mp3 12.1 Mb).
To hear the Closing Remarks by Tim Oates, Group Director - Assessment Research & Development at Cambridge Assessment, please download the podcast (mp3 2.41 Mb).
