This article began life as three separate articles, partially in the form of a diary. The “Levels” it refers to have long since been consigned to the dustbin of history, and the agencies mentioned joined the choir celestial a long time ago. But still, I think the thought processes involved are still apposite, even if the contexts have changed.
Read MoreReview: Making Good Progress?
Daisy Christodoulou carefully picks apart the pitfalls of various kinds of assessment, drawing on different subject areas to do so.
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Review: Principles and Practices of Assessment
There is plenty in this book to like.
Read MorePaul Black
Paul Black, R.I.P.
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Question marks, by Terry Freedman
Understanding exam grading
As the GCSE and ‘A’ Level results days are almost upon us, here are some useful guides as to what the gradings mean.
Read MoreA rubric for assessment? What a joke! Revisted
A lighthearted look at rubrics as a form of assessment.
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Questions, by Terry Freedman
Hot Potatoes Cloze Exercise
A simple, and very old-fashioned looking, cloze exercise!
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A big question mark, by Terry Freedman
The DfE's foray into AI for education: the good news and the (potentilly) bad news
We don’t have very long to wait before the educational AI projects funded by the Department for Education are unveiled, if all goes to plan. But I have some concerns.
Read MoreReflections on assessing computing
This article was originally published some time ago, when there was a previous iteration of the National Computing. However, although the context has changed, many of the issues remain, which is why I've decided to republish. I hope you find it useful. It has been lightly edited to remove dud links)
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The perfect evaluation method is an ever-receeding goal. Photo by Terry Freedman
Course evaluations and their pitfalls
I think evaluations are very odd devices to be honest. Someone once “marked me down” on her evaluation of a one day course I was running on the grounds that the traffic was terrible. I pointed out to her that I wasn’t in charge of local traffic conditions and that she should complain to the council.
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Picture generated by Ideogram
7 reasons that the FAIL acronym fails (Updated)
Failing is empowering.
Read MoreTesting pupils using stories (Update)
Here’s a different and more engaging way of testing pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding. This is an updated version of an article I wrote in 2020. This version includes some ChatGPT-generated additions.
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My automated assessment machine
My issues with assessment by AI
I have serious misgivings about the use of AI to assess students’ work.
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Crowds and queues, by Terry Freedman
Job-seeking as a metaphor for assessment in computing
When I saw several hundred people lining up for some sort of job registration recently, I immediately thought of the challenges of assessing pupils’ educational technology capability. A bit of a stretch? Not necessarily.
Assessment machine, by Terry Freedman
Artificial Intelligence and marking: pitfalls (2022 Update)
If AI generates an essay, and another AI grades it, has anything useful actually happened?
Read MorePerverse incentives in assessment (Updated)
Trying to be helpful to pupils while assessing their understanding could actually be counter-productive.
Read MoreUsing badges
The attractive thing about badges is that a school can invent their own categories and achievement levels.
Read MoreThe problems with rubrics
Rubrics look like an easy way to tackle assessment. But they can be deceptive in that respect, and can cause the unwary to slip up.
Read MoreHow to create a grade-prediction system in Excel, and save yourself loads of time (Updated)
Spotting the unexpected results of mock exams of scores or even hundreds of students need no longer be a nightmare.
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Who?
Does anyone know Adam from Adam?
I have to say I think it is really insulting to have someone who looks like he has just finished studying for ‘A’ Levels himself telling us why exams are best.
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