A couple of weeks back the head of OCR ventured his opinion that eventually students would be allowed to use Google in the exam room for their exams. I commented here on why he was probably misguided, but I did say i would comment later on why it wasn’t a completely stupid idea. So here… Read More Open to question
The concept of National Curriculum Levels has been with us for nearly 30 years, borne out of the 1987 Task Group on Assessment and Testing (TGAT) chaired by Paul Black. I mention this not with any intention of persuading anyone of their merits but simply to place them in time. And in school terms the time… Read More Assessment: Throw away the pen and paper
There’s nothing wrong with accountability. I like a good bit of accountability. It keeps everyone honest. But if it is not operated at the appropriate level it ceases to create accountability and becomes oppressive, in every sense of the word. I’ll give you an example. I like my house to be comfortably warm in the… Read More The bleeding system
“But Mike”, you’ve all screamed*, “we know it would be great to have multiple choice and short answer questions for all our homework, but where are we going to get the questions? We need shed loads!” Well, I do, of course, have an answer to that. I know I can easily break down the Maths… Read More How do you eat an elephant?
Here are the five issues, in no particular order that I would put into the in-tray of the incoming Secretary of State for Education. They all need some form of resolution if the reforms that have been made in the past years are to be absorbed into the system. Summer Results So, Ofqual threw their… Read More Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Some very quick thoughts on new exams for 16 year olds All exam systems need a refresh every so often. When a new qualification is created it exists within a set of parameters. Eventually, if schools are doing all the right things, the ability of the students the qualification is meant for will expand beyond those parameters.… Read More Exam thoughts
Lots of news this morning about moving exams to computers and away from pen and paper, on the web, radio and in the papers. I have to say that the sense of deja-vu is overwhelming, and those who went through the joys of Online KS3 Testing will probably be running for the hills already (sorry… Read More Ending paper exams – its about more than exams
Distant Ramblings on the Horizon 