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Helping exams officers to run a successful summer exam series

Posted by: Hannah Bradley, Posted on: 28 March 2019 - Categories: A levels and GCSEs, Exams
A student at a desk writing on an exam paper.

Running exams is a tough job and one that requires all-year-round effort. Ofqual has been in discussions with exams officers since last summer to find ways we can help them run a smooth, incident-free series.

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How to talk to your students about exam anxiety

Posted by: Kate Keating, Posted on: 22 March 2019 - Categories: A levels and GCSEs, Exams
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This latest blog in our series on test anxiety offer strategies which teachers might find useful to help reduce their students’ experiences of exam anxiety.

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What can schools do about examination and test anxiety

Posted by: Kate Keating, Posted on: 15 March 2019 - Categories: A levels and GCSEs, Exams
Image is a photo of lilac crocuses with a bee on one in the foreground

This blog discusses how school staff can help students through exam time, looking at whole-school approaches and supporting individual needs.

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Examining the examiners

Posted by: Charlotte Lockyer, Posted on: 13 March 2019 - Categories: A levels and GCSEs, Exams
Picture of laptop keyboard and screen with two hands, visible to wrist, typing

While students are getting ready to take their exams this summer, exam boards are also busy, completing their examiner recruitment and finalising their arrangements for the series. This is no mean feat. Last summer alone, 63,000 examiners were needed to …

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What is it like to experience exam stress? A student perspective

Posted by: Kate Keating, Posted on: 8 March 2019 - Categories: A levels and GCSEs, Exams
Image shows flowers growing on side of a cliff, going down to the sea

Test anxiety blog series: 2 Authors: Tamsin McCaldin, Kerry-ann Brown and Dr Jo Greenwood With recent changes to exams in England, there has been increased media interest into exam stress and what that might mean for students working towards exams. …

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11 things we know about marking and 2 things we don’t …yet

Posted by: Kate Keating, Posted on: 5 March 2019 - Categories: A levels and GCSEs, Exams
Image shows paper marked up with rows of maths sums with red pencil lying flat on the page

An enormous amount of work and research has been conducted on marking in recent years, including many contributions by Ofqual to ensure evidence-based regulation. Here is a summary of what we know, and some things we’re looking to find out …

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Positive steps

Posted by: Julie Swan, Posted on: 1 March 2019 - Categories: A levels and GCSEs, Exams
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As the summer exams approach we may expect to see, as in previous years, stories about students experiencing test anxiety. Nobody likes to hear of students being anxious and, like others, we want to play our part in helping young …

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Understanding test anxiety

Posted by: Kate Keating, Posted on: 1 March 2019 - Categories: A levels and GCSEs, Exams
Photo of wild flowers. Bottom half of image is of a meadow of small, white flowers with blue sky, filled with large white fluffy clouds at the top

Test anxiety blog series: 1 Authors: Dr Rob Buck and Professor Kevin Woods Tests and exams in school inform teachers, parents, and students themselves about their academic progress and potential future pathways. But like any situation in which a person’s …

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