Back when I was in college, the internet was in its inception; information was hard to find online and even less reliable than it is today. If I wanted to know basic facts (“What is the fundamental attribution error?”; “What are the stages of meiosis?”; “What was the Treaty of Westphalia?”), I had to either ask an expert or […] … learn more→

The global pandemic caused by the rapid spread of COVID-19 has brought about a change in the way of proceeding in every area imaginable; and the world of education has perhaps been one of the environments in which this social, professional and academic reorganization has had the most impact. One of the most surprising consequences that […] … learn more→

We live in testing times. We also live in a time of globalization, immigration and the internationalization of schools and universities around the world. Our current obsession with school accountability and student learning outcomes has resulted in the increased use and abuse of test scores — in particular language test scores. Language test scores are […] … learn more→

Many parents and teachers are critical of the Standardised Assessment Tests (SATs) that have recently been taken by primary school children. One common complaint is that they are too hard. Teachers at my son’s school sent children home with example questions to quiz their parents on, hoping to show that getting full marks is next […] … learn more→

Students who recently took the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) scored lower when they took the test on a computer than when they used paper and pencil. This might not matter much if the results of these tests played a minimal role. But they do not. Test scores are used […] … learn more→