Abstract

One aim of the Cambridge Assessment Research Division is to explore methodological thinking to ensure that Cambridge Assessment is at the forefront of intellectual debates. This seminar will report on recent research which has critically evaluated two different research methods used for developing and evaluating educational assessments.

The first part of the seminar will report on an evaluation of the CRAS framework which has been used to gauge and compare the demands that are implicit to assessment items. The seminar will outline the CRAS framework and describe its origins. The session will then review the way that the framework has been applied in a variety of published studies, before suggesting a set of recommendations and good practice for researchers who use the CRAS framework.

The second part of the seminar focuses on the KRG technique, with particular reference to the ways that the technique has been used to compare assessment demand. The seminar will outline the KRG technique, describe its theoretical background, review published studies which have employed the technique to evaluate assessment demands, and suggest recommendations and good practice for researchers who use it.