Wednesday Morning Seminar 1 Niel McClean, BECTA

Theme: Technology is supporting a transformation in assessment

Educational challenges
. Continuous change

Learner Drivers
. A book generation over 25
. A screen generation under 25
. Pupils prefer to learn using ICT

Views of e-assessment
. The learner is both a producer and consumer

Assessment challenges
. Turning effective formative assessment into effective summative assessment

Wednesday Morning Seminar 2 Jonathan Robbins

Theme: Connoisseurship, coursework and the credibility of teacher assessments

The purpose of assessment is crucial
. League tables put pressure on schools to mark coursework positively

There is a parallel between aviation, medicine and assessment
. There is no room for error

Connoisseurship based on knowledge, experience
. Reflects the ability to make comparisons across cohorts and across time

Performance subjects already graded this way Dance, music
Such an approach relies heavily on collaboration and co-operation

Wednesday Morning Seminar 3 Linda Sturman

Theme: Getting to grips with assessment - NFER materials for primary schools

What is assessment?
. More than tests and formal end of unit tests or tasks

Developmental approach taken
. Grounded in practice
. Use of teacher panels

Policy into practice
. Assessment for learning
. Self and peer assessment
. Interpreting information
. Moderation
. Making the most of data
. Use in different audiences

Understanding Tests

Wednesday Morning Seminar 4 Fritz Scheuermann

Theme: The quality aspects of computer-based assessment

The purpose of the research centre
. Schools seen as part of lifelong learning

Core indicators
. 11 were outlined

Effective and active citizenship seen as a way forward
.Computer-based assessment still in its infancy

Benefits and challenges identified

Wednesday Morning Seminar 5 Graham Hudson

Theme: Is electronic marking just about efficiency?

Recent research findings
. Electronic marking can provide measurable improvements to marking accuracy
. The nature of the measurement
. The collation of information the use of seeded questions and answers

The importance of new technologies
. Impact upon public confidence
. Credibility of National Tests

A look into the future

Wednesday Afternoon Seminar 1 Tim Oates

Theme: Is the national assessment system a rich ecosystem, or an impenetrable jungle?

State incursions into perfectly sound assessment has major consequences
. These are varied and can damage the assessment, because the puirposes become diffuse

Key control factors are important
. The choice of different factors will determine the outcomes
.If we want learners to remain in education, the courses they decide to follow post 16 are vital
. This has lead to a proliferation of assessments and qualifications over the last thirty years
. Not all are fit for purpose

Wednesday Afternoon Seminar 2 Michelle Meadows and Chris Weadon

Theme: Electronic marking - the pros, cons and possibilities

Advantages of e-marking
. Speed
. Less administration
. Focused use of examiner expertise
.Increased consistency and reliability of marking

Disadvantages of e-marking
. Lack of portable scripts
. Marking may become monotonous
. Concerns over validity

Improved reliability

Use of item level data
. Improvements to item writing
. Improvements to teaching
.Improvements in learning at the item level

On-demand architecture can be developed

Wednesday Afternoon Seminar 3 Martin Ripley and Laura Bustin

Theme: Using computer-based literacy assessments to provide frequent diagnostic and progress checking assessments.

A hand held pda is used to give frequent, regular feedback to teachers
. This provides digitised part of the whole assessment tool
. No difference to the current assessment process of reading
. Recording is the only difference

Assessment details can be fed into teaching schemes immediately
. Individual children can be targeted
. Reports generated very easily

The assessment itself is not important
. What the teacher does with the information is crucial

Wednesday Afternoon Seminar 4 Fred McBride

Theme: Adaptive assessments used as formative tools in computer-based assessments

Pupils work at their own pace
. Work monitored by teachers - colour coding provides the teacher with instant information about the learner

ALTA is pupil-centric
. It provides information as well as resources
.It gathers, collates and presents the information to the teacher
. The teacher can then adapt his/her strategies as necessary

The learning outcome is a function of the information value of assessment
. The assessment becomes formative when the pupil adapts behaviour in the light of that information

Wednesday Afternoon Seminar 5 Steve Bristow

Theme: Adapting the PISA framework for individual schools

PISA is the world's largest survey of schools
. Takes place in 57 countries simultaneously
. Similar subject areas: mother tongue; maths science

Paper and pencil format
. Uses multiple choice tests (MCQ); short answer questions (SAQ) and extended answers (EAQ)

Individual schools can use the tests to compare results with national averages
. Currently a debate about the perennial success of Finland in the PISA tests and the UK's continued relative decline

Thursday Morning Seminar 1 Jo-Anne Baird

Theme: The pressures to innovate the assessment industry

Innovation relates to gradual change rather than radical change
. What we now see is very different from assessment in the seventies, but the change was not sudden or dramatic

Change often emanates from central government
.Based on increases to economic performance

Change can come from practitioners
.Often this is a change to the bureaucracy rather than the content or methodology
.Practitioners often change the impact of innovation by corrupting the bureaucracy of innovation if the innovation means wholesale change

Thursday Morning Seminar 2 Ezekiel Sweiry and Malcolm Hayes

Theme: The pre-test effect in National curriculum Tests

The pre-test is run to ensure standards are being maintained
. Whole tests given to year 6 learners
. Tested for accessibility, consistency and lack of ambiguity

Seen as low-stakes by learners and teachers
. Concerns therefore over lack of validity and invigilation rigour
. Concerns over low motivation of the learners
.Concerns that the test will not therefore be reliable

The pre-test effect can be modelled by a simple shift on the ability scale

Thursday Morning Seminar 3 Janice Gorlach

The design and application of the pupil tracking system at Carmel College

The system merges the curricular and pastoral divide
. Students are given targets and know the assessment criteria
. Celebratory of pupil progress and not absolute attainment

Pupils know their progress results
. Key Stage 2 results used as the baseline

Issues for each learner are identified
. Actions agreed by pupil and teacher

System seen as supporting and not threatening
.Teachers use data to improve overall performance by concentrating on the individual pupil

Thursday Morning Seminar 4 Phillip John

Theme: The SCHOLAR programme in Scotland

Today's learners expect their ICT experience to be seamless and integrated
.SCHOLAR programme aims to emulate that experience in the learning environment

Interactive learning environment developed
. Began in science but has been extended

Real time feedback to learners has been developed for all subjects

Details monitored by the unicersity and policy makers

Thursday Afternoon Seminar 1 Ayesha Ahmed and Alastair Pollitt

Theme: Judging the evidence is what is important

What kinds of evidence does a question want?
.Many questions produce unwanted and unobserved evidence because they are ambiguous

Questions can classified as constrained, semi-constrained and very constrained
. The type of question requires a similar mark scheme

Question setters need to take account of the type of question they are setting
. They must adopt an appropriate mark scheme for that type of question to generate the evidence that they require

Thursday morning Seminar 2 Suzanne Chamberlain, Emma Dawkins and Rachel Taylor

Theme: Developing on line standardisation

AQA has developed a bespoke web-based training package and help desk for external examiners
. Concerns that the current system is intimidating for newcomers

New system has all the benefits that we would expect of an effective e-environment
. Instant feedback
. Flexibility

Real concerns over the lack of face - to - face contact
. Constantly monitored

Thursday Afternoon Seminar 3 Antony Daly

Theme: Grading the new diplomas

A unique set of problems beset the introduction of the new diplomas
. Not a general qualification
. Not a vocational qualification
. An innovative blend of applied qualifications

Variety in size of each of the components produces difficulties for grading

The system used needs to be transparent, fair, robust and fit for purpose

Thursday Afternoon Seminar 4 Richard Kimble

Theme: Project e-scape and the use of hand held tools to aid assessment

Hand held tools allow learners to develop their own portfolios that can then be accessed by assessors and assessed
. Typically used in design and technology
. Work develops into an e-portfolio

Assessment is problematic
. Typically a pairs judging process is used
. Research has shown this method to be very reliable

Thursday afternoon Seminar 5 Jenny Clancy

Theme: Effective assessment techniques in a secondary school

Use of the eight Pillars of Good Assessment Practice at Lymm High School
Quality assuring assessment processes in action