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Why teaching to the test is so bad
Posted on January 19, 2014
This is part three of my summary of Daniel Koretz’s book Measuring Up: What Educational Testing Really Tells Us. Part one, How useful are tests?, is here and part two, Validity and reliability, is her…
Validity and reliability
Posted on December 17, 2013
This is part two of my summary of Daniel Koretz’s book Measuring Up: What Educational Testing Really Tells Us. Part one, How useful are tests?, is here. Part three, Why teaching to the test is so bad,…
A-level maths and earning potential
Posted on December 11, 2013
This week, the Institute of Physics have published a report on gender imbalances in certain subjects. They look at 6 A-level subjects: the typically ‘male’ ones of maths, physics and economics, and th…
How useful are tests?
Posted on December 8, 2013
This is part one of my review of Daniel Koretz’s Measuring Up: What Educational Testing Really Tells Us. Part two, Validity and reliability, is here. Part three, Why teaching to the test is so bad, is…
Do national curriculum levels provide us with a shared language?
Posted on December 1, 2013
In a few recent posts I’ve talked about the difficulties with using criteria as the sole reference point for exams. I think these difficulties can be seen very clearly with national curriculum levels,…
The adverb problem
Posted on November 24, 2013
In a previous blog I looked at how hard it is to set exams based on criteria. I quoted Tim Oates: The first issue is the slippery nature of standards. Even a well-crafted statement of what you need to…
What happens when you outsource the curriculum to the exam syllabus
Posted on November 23, 2013
In a previous post I looked at the vagueness of the 2007 national curriculum and some of the problems this posed for teachers. Often, when I discuss with this people, they say one of two things: First…
GLA London Schools Atlas
Posted on November 20, 2013
A couple of weeks ago the Greater London Authority published a fascinating resource for anyone interested in London schools. It’s the GLA London Schools Atlas. The GLA have overlaid a map of London wi…
Doris Lessing
Posted on November 17, 2013
I was very sad to hear today that Doris Lessing had died. Doris Lessing has been my favourite author since I first read Mara and Dann when I was 15. I think The Golden Notebook is probably my favourit…