Education experts give evidence to the House of Commons Education Committee

18 January 2012

Tim Oates, Group Director of Assessment Research and Development at Cambridge Assessment, will today (18 January) give oral evidence to the Education Committee session as part of its inquiry into the administration of examinations for 15–19 year olds in England.

The aim of the session on 18 January was to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the UK examination system, how the system compares to other countries, and the benefits and drawbacks of possible reforms, such as a single exam board or a franchised system. The Committee also considered how learned societies might become more involved in the content and design of A Level examinations, as proposed in the 2010 White Paper The Importance of Teaching. 

At 9.30am 

  • Jo-Anne Baird, Pearson Professor & Director of the Oxford University Centre for Educational Assessment 
  • Michelle Meadows, Director, Centre for Education Research and Policy, AQA 
  • Tim Oates, Group Director, Assessment Research and Development, Cambridge Assessment 
  • Alison Wolf, Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management, King's College London 

At approximately 10.30am 

  • Stephen J Ball FBA AcSS, British Academy 
  • Professor Sir John Holman, Senior Fellow for Education, Wellcome Trust 
  • Professor Graham Hutchings FRS, SCORE Chair 
  • Warwick Mansell, freelance journalist

Watch Parliament TV 

Read our evidence to the Education Committee on the arguments in favour of and against having a range of awarding bodies for academic and applied qualifications, and the merits of alternative arrangements such as having one national body or examination boards franchised to offer qualifications in particular subjects or fields. 

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