Blogs

School and Trust Strategy

by Loic Menzies, 20 April 2023
2 young children holding hands walking down a school corridor

In the first blog in this mini-series I argued that whichever party wins the next election will need to make the beliefs and values underpinning its policies clear. Then, in the second I showed how competing strategies can result in incoherent policy making. In this blog, I want to argue that being explicit about the values that sit behind a strategy also matters at a school or trust level.

Seven stories of autonomy and centralisation

by Loic Menzies, 27 March 2023
Graphic of 2 couples on a tandem bike, cycling in opposite directions

"Perhaps that’s why politicians ended up investing valuable political capital in major reforms of the National Curriculum, whilst at the same time exempting academies from having to follow it." In this latest blog from Loic Menzies, he explores how policymakers navigate the tensions encountered when trying to juggle autonomy and central direction.

Evidence is all well and good, but don’t forget values

by Loic Menzies, 20 March 2023
Hands holding up columns of bar graph
In debates about ‘progressive’ versus ‘traditionalist’ teaching, part of the debate is about evidence, but values are the iceberg floating beneath the surface. In this blog from Loic Menzies, which is part of our series Mapping The Way to a More Equitable Future for Education, we look at the increased interest in evidence in education and the extent to which this should affect policy decisions.

Using a self-study course to build on your global assessment experience

by The Assessment Network, 06 March 2023
Coloured pencils lined up to look like a bar graph

Stephen Ives has been on an incredible journey in the world of assessment. Having spent over 12 years teaching English to adults both in the UK and abroad after completing his Cambridge DELTA qualification, Stephen has gone on to support the implementation of assessment processes across the globe. Here, Stephen discusses how completing CPD training with Cambridge Assessment Network is supporting his career development.

Assessing 'competence' and ‘21st century skills’: Challenges and ways forward

by The Assessment Network, 06 February 2023
Young woman molding clay on pottery wheel workshop at the ceramic shop
Assessing competence and skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration are high on the agenda for educators, employers, and policymakers looking to reimagine an education system fit for the future. In this blog, we discuss the advantages and challenges of assessing competence and so-called '21st-century skills', and how they might be integrated into the curriculum.

Finding the answers to your questions around assessment

by The Assessment Network, 02 February 2023
Coloured pencils lined up to look like a bar graph
Desislava Dimitrova is an assessment expert with over 30 years’ experience in the educational sector. Having developed her knowledge base through both study and as a teacher in Bulgaria, Desislava was keen to get the answers to some of her most pressing questions around assessment – with the help of Cambridge Assessment Network she has been on a journey to find them.

The future of high stakes school assessment

by Sarah Hughes, 31 January 2023
Classic analog typewriter vs Modern digital hi-tech laptop computer
In the past 40 years, the pace of technological change has been rapid. In those same years, assessment has remained largely the same. In this blog we ask, is digital assessment finally on its way, and if so what does that look like? From a lift and shift model to 'born digital exams, we examine how technology is shaping assessment, and discuss why the focus should be on what we want for the future of education, not what the tech can do for us.

What’s the value of assessment data? How to make more reliable inferences about your students’ learning

by The Assessment Network, 09 January 2023
Coloured pencils lined up to look like a bar graph
Harnessing assessment data is an important element underpinning teaching and learning. In this blog, we examine the immense value of having an increased knowledge of assessment data, and how it can support individual practitioners and institutions to make reliable inferences about their students.  

Assessment Horizons - assessment literacy, identities and cultures - with Dr Simon Child

by Guest Blogger, 14 November 2022
Dr Simon Child, Cambridge Assessment Network's Head of Assessment Training was recently a discussant at the 'exploring the role of assessment literacy in times of uncertainty' session at AEA-Europe Conference 2022. We caught up with him to learn more about assessment literacy and cultures and how learning about these concepts may evolve.

Telling the story of maths education in England and the United States

by Nicky Rushton, Dominika Majewska & Stuart Shaw, 08 November 2022
US and UK country map silhouettes with flags with circular arrows pointing to and from each country

As we might expect, there are both similarities and differences in mathematics teaching in England and the US. If we want to understand the differences, it is useful to look at the way that mathematics has been taught in the past and how such teaching has influenced teaching today. In this blog and the accompanying time lines we explore the main events and influences in mathematics education in the two countries.

We need research! Bringing research insights to our agile digital innovation team

by Sylvia Vitello, 27 October 2022
Group of professionals at a board room table looking at research documents
In a blog last year, we looked at reasons why research practices might need to fit within 'agile' ways of working. ‘Agile researchers’ streamline traditional (academic) research processes so that researchers can provide insights to product teams in a timely and more useable manner. In this blog, Sylvia Vitello reflects on her personal experience as a researcher working within an agile working environment, what went well, and what was challenging.

How can we balance innovation and comparability in our digital high stakes assessments?

by Sarah Hughes & Gill Elliot, 04 October 2022
picture comparing a tennis ball with an old cricket ball
Comparability, or the extent to which standards are similar, between paper and digital assessments can be a concern. In this blog researchers Sarah Hughes and Gill Elliot explain what we mean by comparability when talking about digital assessment, and how our Digital High Stakes Assessment Programme is balancing innovation and comparability of outcomes.

Shifting maths and science assessments onto screen: what’s different?

by Joanna Williamson, 22 September 2022
Man at laptop with calculator
Digital assessment is growing from strength to strength. Besides innovative new assessments – including those integrated within learning tools – there’s demand for existing high stakes assessments to be available on screen. But it's not as simple as migrating all our existing paper tests onto screen. In this blog, we zoom in on the particularities of maths and science.

Key bloggers

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Tim Oates

Director of Assessment and Research

Research Matters

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Research Matters is our free biannual publication which allows us to share our assessment research, in a range of fields, with the wider assessment community.