1. 1 Research and Development From CEM CEM conference: Improving Pupil Assessment London 7th June 2011

2. 2 CEM’s Achievements  The largest educational research unit in a UK university (70 staff)  1.1 million assessments are taken each year  More than 50% of UK secondary schools use one or more CEM system  CEM systems used in over 40 countries  Largest provider of computerised adaptive tests outside US

3. 3 Rising standards

4. 4 Grade slippage at A level

5. 5

6. 6 Maths performance from 1976-2008 Hodgen et al, 2009

7. 7 Can existing research help you to improve your school?

8. 8  School Effectiveness Research (= Lists of characteristics of ‘effective’ schools) o Can we really identify effective schools? o Can we change these characteristics? o Will this lead to real improvement?  School Improvement Research (= Descriptions of change efforts) o Did important outcomes really improve? o Do we know why? o Are the changes (and any real effects) replicable? Existing research

9. 9  Set high expectations  Are good at planning  Employ a variety of teaching strategies  Have a clear strategy for pupil management  Manage time and resources wisely  Employ a range of assessment methods  Set appropriate homework  Keep pupils on task Effective Teachers (according to Hay McBer, 2000) (For which the DfEE paid £3m)

10. 10 The secret of success (according to J. Paul Getty)  Rise early  Work late  Strike oil (This advice was given for free)

11. 11  Wait for a bad year and/or choose a bad school to start with. Things can only get better.  Take on any initiative, and ask everyone who put effort into it whether they feel it worked. No-one wants to feel foolish.  Define ‘improvement’ in terms of perceptions and ratings of teachers. DO NOT conduct any proper assessments – they may disappoint.  Only study schools that recognise a problem and are prepared to take on an initiative. They’ll improve whatever you do. How to produce ‘school improvement’ (1)

12. 12  Conduct some kind of evaluation, but don’t let the design be too good – poor quality evaluations are much more likely to show positive results  If any improvement occurs in any aspect of performance, focus attention on that rather than on any areas (or schools) that have not improved or got worse  Put some effort into marketing and presentation of the school. Once you start to recruit better students, things will improve. How to produce ‘school improvement’ (2)

13. 13  Use high-quality assessment and monitoring systems to track a range of valued outcomes  Take account of the best available research evidence about the effectiveness of different approaches  Experiment and adapt to local needs, contexts and capacities, with rigorous evaluation. What would an evidence-driven school do?

14. 14

15. 15 ‘Best buy’ strategies Cost per pupil Effect Size (months gain) £0 0 10 £1000 Feedback Meta-cognitive Peer tutoring Pre-school 1-1 tutoring Homework ICT AfL Parental involvement Sports Summer schools After school Individualised learning Learning styles Arts Performance pay Teaching assistants Smaller classes Ability grouping

16. 16  Probably worth investing in o Feedback o Meta-cognitive & self-regulation strategies o Peer tutoring  Less effective (or not good value) o More teachers / TAs (smaller classes) o 1-1 support (ECaR, ECC) o Setting / streaming o PRP If our aim is to promote learning

17. 17 CEM’s Aim  To help educators improve educational outcomes, through o Assessments that support learning o Monitoring and feedback systems for self-evaluation o Rigorous evaluation of the impact of different approaches o Promotion of evidence-based practices and policies

18. 18  Use high-quality assessment and monitoring systems to track a range of valued outcomes  Take account of the best available research evidence about the effectiveness of different approaches  Experiment and adapt to local needs, contexts and capacities, with rigorous evaluation. What would an evidence-driven school do?