25 June 2012
We've recently welcomed Tom Benton to our Research Division. An expert in the field of statistical analysis, Dr Benton joined us from the National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) where he worked for more than 10 years.
Dr Benton, who joined as Principal Research Officer, Assessment Research and Development, is an expert in the field of statistical analysis including survey research, programme evaluation, measurement, benchmarking and international comparisons. Part of his work has been in the development and standardisation of numerous educational tests.
Cambridge Assessment, a department of the University of Cambridge, is a leading research authority on educational assessment in Europe with over 50 researchers employed in a variety of fields.
Tom Benton said: "Cambridge Assessment has an outstanding reputation for the quality of its research and development activities and I welcome the opportunity to work with my new colleagues on such a wide-ranging programme of work. Like Cambridge Assessment, I believe that educational research plays a vital role in the continuous improvement of educational and assessment policies and practices."
Sylvia Green, Director of Research at Cambridge Assessment said: "The profile of assessment has increased considerably over recent years and attracts a great deal of attention and coverage. Tom joins us at an exciting time, and I’m delighted to welcome him on board."
Prior to joining Cambridge Assessment, Dr Benton was Deputy Head of the Statistics Research and Analysis Group at NFER where he had worked since 2001. He has been closely involved with a number of large-scale national and international surveys of young people including the PISA study, the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) and the nine-year Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study (for the DCSF), where he pioneered the use of latent variable modelling at NFER to explore the effect of a range of influences on the attitudes and experiences of young people at school. He has also worked on numerous evaluations of government initiatives aimed at increasing participation in education and training post-16.