The Government has set up a Curriculum and Assessment Review to look at national curriculum and statutory assessments from age 5 to 18.

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international comparative study of the reading literacy of students around 10 years of age.

Assessment research has some key messages for education practitioners.

  OUCEA has a long history of research on the theory and practice of standard setting, as well as how standards in national qualifications are understood.

What makes plants grow?

This project includes a broad research programme on the structural reforms of GCSE that will document their impacts so that policy makers can better understand the likely effects of future reform agendas in this area.

‘intsvy’ is an R package for working with international assessment data from PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), TIMSS (The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), and PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies).

Research syntheses, by way of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, rely on the quality of the underlying studies; their methodological trustworthiness.

Recent knowledge exchange activities with industry and government include: Jo-Anne Baird is a member of Department for Education’s Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Becky Francis Ofsted’s External Reference Group on Insights and Evidence in Education The British Educational Research Association’s Panel on Educational Research Funding SQA’s Qualifications Committee International Assessment Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for the Department of Education (DBE) in South Africa Michelle Meadows is a member of the Institute of Director’s Assessment Committee Ofqual’s Qualifications Reform Group Ofqual advisor on crisis management and disaster planning Stuart Cadwallader is a member of AQA’s Research Committee Jenni Ingram is a member of the OECD Mathematics Expert Group (MEG) Jenni Ingram, Stuart Cadwallader & Jamie Stiff collaborate with Pearson UK on national reports for PISA25 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and have done so for previous rounds of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests Ariel Lindorff and Victoria Elliott are collaborating with Pearson UK on the England national report for PIRLS26 and have done so for previous rounds of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

Strengthening the design and implementation of the standardised student assessment reform of the Flemish Community of Belgium The Flemish Community of Belgium has been a stronger performer on international tests, however, performance has been deteriorating and more students are failing to reach basic proficiency levels than before.

It’s Our Future: Report of the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment Led by Professor Louise Hayward, from Glasgow University Recommends Scottish Diploma of Achievement comprising Programmes of Learning, Project Learning and the Personal Pathway.

In collaboration with Pearson UK, OUCEA produced the National Report for England for PIRLS 2021.