New research leader joins Cambridge Assessment

27 March 2006

Cambridge Assessment today announces that Tim Oates will be joining the organisation to lead its growing Assessment Research and Development division. Mr Oates joins from the Qualifications and Curriculum Agency, where he has been Head of Research and Statistics for most of the last decade.

Cambridge Assessment, a department of the University of Cambridge, is now the leading research authority on educational assessment in Europe with over 50 researchers employed in a variety of fields.

Mr Oates, who will become Group Director, Assessment Research and Development, has produced work which commands national and international respect. His most recent work has been on a new pan-European 8-level qualifications framework. He has advised the UK Government for many years on both practical matters and assessment policy.

Tim Oates said: "Cambridge Assessment has an outstanding reputation for the quality of its research and development activities and I welcome the opportunity to support its wide-ranging programme of work. There are many challenges in ensuring that research is linked effectively to policy formation and to the maintenance and development of operational assessment arrangements. I look forward greatly to working with colleagues at Cambridge Assessment in confronting these challenges."

Simon Lebus, Group Chief Executive of Cambridge Assessment said: "Tim is ideally qualified to make sure that research is at the heart of Cambridge Assessment and to take the Assessment Research and Development division forward as we respond to the challenges and opportunities that face us in a time of great change. I'm delighted to welcome him on board."

Mr Oates, who will take up his position on 30 May, started his career as a research officer at the University of Surrey. He moved to the FE Staff College in 1987 where he helped run the Work-Based Learning project. London University's Institute of Education then appointed him as NCVQ Research Fellow. In 1993 he joined one of the QCA's predecessor bodies, the National Council for Vocational Qualifications, as Head of GNVQ Research and Development. Promotion to Director of Research followed two years later, leading to his current position upon the creation of the QCA. He has a first from the University of Sussex in Philosophy with Literature and an MA in Philosophy from the same institution.

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