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SUMMARY:Cambridge Assessment Network: Defining educational assessment for 
 the public - Andrew Watts
DTSTART:20130613T093000Z
DTEND:20130613T110000Z
UID:TALK44423@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:32694
DESCRIPTION:How should we define educational assessment in order to explai
 n it better to the public? There is much misunderstanding\, which includes
  an expectation that examinations should be able to judge accurately small
  differences in students’ performances. These judgements are surely made
  by subject specialists who are experts in judging the level of students
 ’ work. And yet it is also acknowledged that no expert can judge to suff
 icient levels of accuracy\, especially when decisions about students’ fu
 tures are to be based on those judgements. So could the UK awarding bodies
  rely more on a ‘scientific’ approach to the measurement of students
 ’ achievement?\n\nKey topics\n\n■Measurements and judgements\n■Descr
 iptive and measurement scales\n■Their relationship to assessment\n■Sci
 ence or art?\n■Explaining ourselves to the public\n\nSpeaker biography\n
 \nAndrew Watts began his career as a teacher of English in England. After 
 eleven years he moved to Singapore where he taught at a Junior College (fo
 r A level) for over four years. Andrew then worked for five and a half yea
 rs in the Curriculum Planning Division of the Ministry of Education in Sin
 gapore\, focusing on curriculum development in English teaching and in-ser
 vice teacher development. In 1990 he returned to England and worked with C
 ambridge Assessment from the summer of 1992. For most of that time Andrew 
 looked after teams that were developing national tests for 14-year-olds in
  England\, Northern Ireland and Wales.\n\nAs Director of the Cambridge Ass
 essment Network from 2004 to January 2009\, Andrew led the setting up of t
 he Network\, whose purpose is to promote online and face-to-face professio
 nal development opportunities for teachers and those who work in assessmen
 t.\n\nAndrew now works freelance on a variety of education and assessment 
 projects. He contributes regularly to assessment seminars\, workshops\, tr
 aining courses and conferences both in the UK and internationally\n
LOCATION:Hughes Hall\, Mortimer Road\, Cambridge\, UK
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