Member News
24th March 2011
A gathering of educational experts has been told of the importance of reliable assessments.
As the culmination of a two-year study into the 'Reliability Programme', examinations regulator Ofqual hosted a seminar in Tavistock Square on Tuesday, attended by professionals from the worlds of assessment and qualifications.
Speaking at the event, entitled 'The Reliability Programme: Leading the way to better tests and assessments', was Ofqual director of standards, Dennis Opposs.
Opposs outlined the details of the programme, which he described as serving as a "health check" on the accuracy of examination results.
The programme, Opposs noted, had determined three primary objectives for future work on reliability: to continue to research reliability as part of supporting the quality-assurance process for qualifications, to encourage awarding organisations to generate and publish reliability data, and to continue to improve professional and public understanding of reliability issues.
Opposs said:
"Over the past two years we have looked at different aspects of reliability, including how to generate evidence, how to interpret and communicate the findings, and what people understand and think about these issues."
He added:
"The Reliability Programme has made substantial progress in our understanding of this subject and we will consider the range of findings as we develop policies on reliability. We also know there is still much more work to be done in this area."
Other speakers at the seminar included new Ofqual chief executive Glenys Stacey, Dr Paul Newton of the Cambridge Assessment Network, freelance education journalist Warwick Mansell, and Professor Jo-Anne Baird, a member of the Technical Advisory Group for the programme who highlighted findings from the research into reliability.
More information on the Reliability Programme, including the final summary report, can be viewed on the Ofqual website.
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