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Education

National Assessment Arrangements for Key Stage 3

Fri, 23 January 2009

On 9th January 2009 we hosted - in partnership with Cambridge Assessment and the National Foundation for Educational Research - an expert seminar on the future of assessment at Key Stage 3.

The recently announced changes to KS3 assessment arrangements confront many of the structural problems which have accumulated in the system. However, the suddenness of the announcement leaves a question as to what arrangements should be put in place to replace them, and when. An Expert Group has been established to advise the Department for Children, Schools and Families and will face considerable challenge in terms of the urgency of their work. This seminar was designed to assemble as much advice and intelligence as possible in order to feed into the work of the Expert Group.

The seminar included presentations from Cambridge Assessment, NFER and the Nuffield Foundation sponsored Assessment Reform Group. These explored possible options and ways forward. Participants included researchers, policy-makers, teachers’ leaders and assessment agencies. Present throughout the meeting was Professor Sir Tim Brighouse who is a key member of the Expert Group. Proceedings of the seminar were sent to the Expert Group and are available here.

Last Updated Wed, 18 February 2009