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This blog was kindly contributed by Dennis Sherwood, who is on Twitter @noookophile. Official consultations are important documents, if only to allow the issuer to claim that ‘we consulted widely’. Whether or not the issuer is influenced by any responses is another matter, and those responses are of course heavily…
This blog by Dennis Sherwood considers the latest twists in school and college pupils’ assessments for 2021. Ofqual’s newly-appointed Chief Regulator, Simon Lebus, recently stated his commitment to ‘supporting “innovation” in assessment’. Now that that school exams have been cancelled in England, there is an opportunity for him to do just that. …
As the Government confirms ‘we will not be asking students to sit GCSE and A Levels’ in 2021 and while we all await further details, the HEPI blog considers the (in)accuracy of the regular grading process. This blog has been kindly contributed by Gabriel Roberts, an English teacher at a…
Phew. Time to take a breather. 2020 has been a rollercoaster and this blog marks our last of the year. In January, perhaps we were tempting fate when we answered ‘How accurate were predictions for higher education in 2020?’ Little did we know that the Valentine’s Day reshuffle (bringing in…
In my seven years at HEPI, the most controversial paper we have issued – by some distance – is a piece on academic publishing. It argued for a National Licence scheme, which would have given everyone in the UK free and legal access to current and past academic output that might…
This blog was contributed by Dennis Sherwood who has previously written about A levels. At the Education Select Committee hearing on 2 September, Ofqual’s Chief Regulator, Dame Glenys Stacey, acknowledged that exam grades are ‘reliable to one grade either way’. Two weeks later, at the hearing on 16 September, Gavin…
This blog is the latest in a series by Dennis Sherwood, who has been tracking the 2020 results fiasco for HEPI. On Wednesday 10 June 2020, Dr Michelle Meadows, Ofqual’s Executive Director for Strategy, Risk and Research, and Sally Collier, at that time, but no longer, Ofqual’s Chief Regulator, appeared before the Education…
This blog was kindly contributed by John Craven, Chief Executive of upReach, the award-winning social mobility charity that works in partnership with universities to support the progression of disadvantaged students into highly skilled jobs. You can find John on Twitter @upReachJCraven . Ofqual were set a nearly impossible task: Provide students with…
This guest post has been kindly contributed by Huy Duong, who has been described by the Guardian as ‘the father who foresaw A-level algorithm flaws’. Huy thanks Professor George Constantinides, Professor Rob Cuthbert, Professor Mike Larkin and Mr Dennis Sherwood for important discussion and help in writing this article. Ofqual’s…
Dennis Sherwood has been tracking this year’s ‘exam’ round for HEPI. Here, he responds to the latest announcements – or u-turn – on using Centre-Assessment Grades. Good news! So now we know. After all the anguish since the A-level results were announced on 13 August, teachers’ Centre Assessment Grades (CAGs) will…