Gerallt Hughes, Trials Co-ordinator at AlphaPlus, shares some insight into STEM and STEM education in North Wales. Having recently done some extensive research into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) in North Wales, I had an opportunity to reflect on aspects of my background and experiences living and growing up in the region. Despite not being
It has been almost 8 months since schools first shut to limit the spread of coronavirus. As well as all of the obvious disruptions, Covid-19 has had a massive impact on our trialling work, delaying or otherwise changing many of the trialling projects we had in the pipeline. As part of our work developing assessments, we
Priya Dutta, Assessment Manager, introduces two common approaches to assessment. At AlphaPlus, we work closely with clients to build the most suitable assessment programmes for their needs. It is useful, therefore, for everyone to have a general understanding of two very common approaches. What is a criterion-referenced test? A criterion-referenced test aims to measure a
Dave Mellor, Deputy Director of Assessment at AlphaPlus, shares his thoughts on the summer 2021 GCSE and A-level exam session. Over the last few months Ofqual have published their decisions on changes to the 2021 GCSE and A-level exam series to try and deal with the impact of Covid-19 on students’ education. The changes are
Dave Mellor, Deputy Director of Assessment at AlphaPlus, shares his thoughts on the proposed autumn exam series for GCSEs and A-levels. Covid-19 has meant that GCSE and A-level assessments have been cancelled this summer. Instead, teachers are estimating grades for their students and exam boards will moderate those grades to bring them into line with
As many of you will know, for the past few years AlphaPlus has been working with the Welsh Government to develop national personalised adaptive assessments for all schoolchildren aged 7 to 14 in Wales. These assessments are formative, and have been designed to identify areas where children and teachers need to focus their efforts in
Remote proctoring (or remote invigilation – the two terms can be and are used interchangeably) is becoming more commonly used in all areas of assessment, and allows candidates to take assessments away from a traditional assessment centre – typically at home, or at work. PeopleCert offer many of their professional qualifications, including PRINCE2, online with
The Covid-19 crisis has hit all of us hard in many aspects of life. In the grand scheme of things, Covid’s disruption of summer 2020 school examinations series is probably one of the smaller worries that society faces. Nonetheless, it is a substantial challenge for authorities who have educational responsibilities in many countries. At AlphaPlus,
Setting the pass mark is a key stage in the development of many assessments. For many high-stakes assessments, it is crucial that when a candidate passes an exam, the certification body can be confident that they have reached a defined level of minimum competence. It’s worth stating the obvious – a pass mark is an
We are delighted to have taken on a new client, Brunei Shell Petroleum, whom we started working with in February. Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP) has for 90 years been the largest oil and gas producer in Brunei Darussalam, contributing around 90% to Brunei’s oil and gas revenues. It operates an extensive and complex infrastructure with