Assessment training: The place of taxonomies in question writing

Assessment training: The place of taxonomies in question writing, paper setting and assessment evaluation

Speakers: Dr Martina Kuvalja and Dr Sarah Mattey
Date: 03 Apr 2019 Venue: Cambridge Assessment The Triangle Building, Shaftesbury Road Cambridge CB2 8EA
Time: 09:30 - 12:30
Type: Training workshop Fee: £70.00

For any assessment, it is important to establish a clear understanding of what skills and knowledge are assessed. It is also useful to be able to compare assessments across different educational stages and different contexts, and to be able to monitor assessments over time.

The session was well paced, informative and enjoyable."

Workshop outline

This training event introduces the use and development of taxonomies to support question writing, paper setting and evaluating assessments.

Key learning outcomes

  • Become familiar with some existing taxonomies.
  • Understand how these taxonomies might be used in question writing, paper setting and assessment evaluation.
  • Explore how you might develop a taxonomy to meet your own needs.

Intended audience

The session is targeted at assessment professionals, but will be accessible to teachers and assessors who are interested in developing their assessment knowledge.

Course trainers

Martina Kuvalja - Senior ResearcherDr Martina Kuvalja is a Senior Researcher working in OCR on a range of projects focusing on examiners’ behaviour and the quality of marking. Before joining Cambridge Assessment, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher investigating metacognition and self-regulation in young children and as an independent consultant.



Sarah MatteyDr Sarah Mattey is a Research Officer working in ARD, having previously worked for Cambridge International and OCR as a researcher. Sarah has worked on the assessment of practical science skills, predictive validity of International AS and A levels, and vocational qualifications. Sarah's background is in statistical modelling and study design, having previously been a researcher in evolutionary biology.

The Triangle Building, Shaftesbury Road Cambridge CB2 8EA

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