Lots of reasons why GCSE marking seems particularly unreliable at the top end. One lies with interpretation of AOs . If marking focuses too heavily on component parts with insufficient room for the 'big picture' then overall quality can be overlooked theguardian.com/education/2024…

Current GCSE exam unreliability 1. Impacts on students & their futures 2.Impacts on HoDs stress levels, the very people schools are desperate to keep in a retention crisis 3. Involves a vast amount of admin for HoDs, reviewing scripts, writing reports for SLT etc Not acceptable.

An exam system - including its appeals - should not doubly privilege already financially privileged families and schools.

'We have been listened to': OCR's Striking the Balance - A Review of 11-16 Curriculum and Assessment in England | The English Association ⁦OCR Policy Team⁩ ⁦OCR⁩ #TeamEnglish Thanks to ⁦Robert Eaglestone⁩ A review well worth reading. ⬇️ englishassociation.ac.uk/we-have-been-l…

*NEW POST* Writing a wrong? A look at consistency of KS2 writing results pre- and post- pandemic. insightinform.co.uk/2024/09/23/wri…

And we’re off! The call for evidence for the curriculum and assessment review is now open, and will be for 8 weeks. As Prof Becky Francis says, this is the chance for a national conversation. Excited to hear the diverse views, insights & expertise of all. gov.uk/government/cal…

No matter your views on her stated reasons for quitting, Rosie Duffield has made a political career out of dehumanising one of the most marginalised groups in society. She should never have been allowed the privilege of resigning. Labour should have withdrawn the whip long ago.

The vocabulary barrier in English Literature GCSE has seen researchers call for change in texts. Here is my exploration of the new evidence that even avid readers may struggle to tackle English Literature texts: alexquigley.co.uk/the-rare-vocab…

How many marking errors are there in the 6 million exam scripts marked each year? The figures we have on re-marks are probably just the tip of the iceberg, writes Dennis Sherwood tes.com/magazine/analy…

This 👇

Reminder: "The processing of texts on screens is faster &shallower. Simply put, we tend to skim more when reading screens & we are less likely to stop &think about what we are reading which limits later memory for the information." Timothy Shanahan shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/is-compre…

It bears repeating today: the women celebrating the UK supreme court ruling do not speak for me. History shows that the rights of women and the rights of trans people will rise and fall together. My safety as a cis woman will never spring from the persecution of trans women.

Biological essentialism is the antithesis of feminism. It has never served the interests of women- even those who are wealthy, white and heterosexual.

Here's something to try with your friends and family who aren't aware of what's going on; show them this guardian piece on Rowling and then show them J.K. Rowling 's twitter feed. My parents are in their 60s and they've just cancelled their subscription. theguardian.com/books/2025/apr…

When I saw this tweet it struck me as ridiculous but I couldn't work out why. Immediately I pointed out the right-wing, manosphere aesthetics... but that's not it. It's ridiculous because it's out of place. This isn't the pose of someone who was terrified of losing rights..

🏳️‍⚧️ NEW 🏳️‍⚧️ We believe the Supreme Court – which disgracefully refused to hear from trans people before its decision last week – has placed the UK in breach of its obligations under the Human Rights Act. So we’re readying a challenge – join us: goodlaw.social/xdwu

Labour's new policy - of humiliating trans people by requiring them constantly to self-identify - we believe puts the UK (again) in breach of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and will seek a declaration of incompatability. goodlaw.social/qwjc

"I disagree profoundly with her on this subject. She says things that are inflammatory, contemptuous and mocking. They add to a terribly distressing time for trans people": Stephen Fry. He echoes what so many who once admired her now believe: that Rowling is toxic - and unwell.

Parliament in a nutshell: Yesterday MPs, including Yvette Cooper, celebrated the suffragette legacy of civil disobedience that won women the right to vote.. Only to then vote to designate non-violent direct action group Palestine Action as terrorists. Westminster is broken.

"People who are writing island of strangers speeches should be a bit slow to sit in judgement on Diane Abbott who has been fighting racism all her life," Labour peer Baroness Chakrabarti tells #PoliticsLive bbc.in/3TMmg1J