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A report from the Education Select Committee, published in May 2017, criticised assessment in primary schools, saying its close link to school accountability is creating a "high-stakes" system that is harming teaching and learning. The group of cross-party MPs confirmed what many primary school teachers have been saying for a long time: that the ne...

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Assessment isn’t the big, bad wolf of education – our perception of it is the problem

In the current education debate, I believe assessment is unfairly judged. It is easy fodder for persecution because it is misunderstood and often carries negative connotations with students, teachers, parents and the administration. Part of the problem – and I'm not sure how it happened – is that many people have come to think of assessment and tes...

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Confessions of an examiner

When I took my A-levels and GCSEs, I imagined them being marked by wise, Einstein lookalikes with great tufts of white hair, locked away in ivory towers. I pictured these sages ruminating over the points I had carefully laid out, raising an interested eyebrow from time to time, and often pausing to reflect on my argument. The idea of doubting ...

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