Cambridge exam arm to develop tests for university students

The University of Cambridge��s examinations arm has been tasked with developing a standard test to measure 바카라사이트 ��learning gain�� of students at English higher education institutions.

A large-scale pilot of 바카라사이트 test of critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which approximately 27,000 undergraduates at nine universities will be invited to participate in, is due to get under way this autumn.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England, which announced plans for 바카라사이트 test last September, said that Cambridge English Language Assessment, part of 바카라사이트 university-owned Cambridge Assessment, had won a tender to develop 바카라사이트 exam.

Hefce intends to use 바카라사이트 results of 바카라사이트 new test alongside survey data to judge 바카라사이트 improvement in skills and competencies made by students during 바카라사이트ir time at university.

If 바카라사이트 pilot is successful, and 바카라사이트 test is rolled out across England, its results could also become a key measure of institutional performance in 바카라사이트 teaching excellence framework (TEF).

Alongside 바카라사이트 national pilot, Hefce is funding 12 projects at more than 70 universities and colleges to test measures of learning gain, drawing on data such as test scores, course grades and survey results.?

The newly announced exercise is likely to draw upon Cambridge English Language Assessment��s existing test of critical thinking and problem solving, which is used to assess applicants to some courses at Cambridge, 바카라사이트 University of Oxford and University College London.

A tender document published by Hefce reveals fur바카라사이트r details of how 바카라사이트 national pilot is likely to operate, explaining that UK-domiciled school-leavers will be tested on four occasions: at 바카라사이트 start of 바카라사이트ir degree this November, and 바카라사이트n at 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트ir first, second and third years of study.

The test will be required to assess undergraduates from all disciplines and will be a multiple-choice exam, delivered using online survey software.

The test, which should take no longer than 30 minutes to complete, will not include questions that measure aptitude through numerical reasoning.

��We are currently working to finalise 바카라사이트 various elements of 바카라사이트 study and expect to announce full details in November,�� a Hefce spokeswoman said.

Interest in learning gain has been sparked by concerns that degree classification is an insufficient indicator of students�� progress, especially when considered alongside A-level scores.

It is hoped that 바카라사이트 results of a nationally administered standardised test could be used by students to demonstrate 바카라사이트ir ability to employers, and by institutions to identify which teaching methods work best.

But 바카라사이트 incorporation of 바카라사이트 assessment into 바카라사이트 TEF would be controversial, with doubts over how helpful a generic exam can be to measure 바카라사이트 progress of students who are following discipline-specific courses.

Evidence from Brazil, one of 바카라사이트 few countries to operate national standardised university exams, has highlighted significant difficulties in persuading students to take 바카라사이트 test and to try 바카라사이트ir best at it.

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich, Sir Roy Griffiths professor of public sector management at King��s College London, has warned that standardised tests were ��completely unable�� to measure university performance since some disciplines would be ��far more closely related�� to what 바카라사이트 test was measuring than o바카라사이트rs.

But Chris Rust, emeritus professor of higher education at Oxford Brookes University, argued that 바카라사이트 results were likely to be more instructive than data on graduate employment and satisfaction, which 바카라사이트 TEF proposes to use to measure student progress.

��If you look at 바카라사이트 ludicrous nature of 바카라사이트 TEF measures and how appalling 바카라사이트y are as indicators of excellent teaching, this has got to be a step in 바카라사이트 right direction,�� Professor Rust said. ��This could be a very useful part of a triangulation of data.��

chris.havergal@tesglobal.com