Blogs on 'Future of Education'

Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT gained significant attention in education. In this blog, Senior Researcher at Cambridge University Press & Assessment Martina Kuvalja, explores a study run by Cambridge Assessment International Education on the quality of essays written with the help of ChatGPT, compared to essays written without the help of ChatGPT.

Assessing competence and skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration are high on the agenda for educators, employers, and policymakers looking to reimagine an education system fit for the future. In this blog, we discuss the advantages and challenges of assessing competence and so-called '21st-century skills', and how they might be integrated into the curriculum.

In the past 40 years, the pace of technological change has been rapid. In those same years, assessment has remained largely the same. In this blog we ask, is digital assessment finally on its way, and if so what does that look like? From a lift and shift model to 'born digital exams, we examine how technology is shaping assessment, and discuss why the focus should be on what we want for the future of education, not what the tech can do for us.

The Digital High Stakes Assessment Programme is developing innovative assessments and using evidence to inform their design. This blog, a literature review of open book, open web assessments (OBOW), describes what we mean by OBOW, and the pros and cons of this assessment approach.

Comparability, or the extent to which standards are similar, between paper and digital assessments can be a concern. In this blog researchers Sarah Hughes and Gill Elliot explain what we mean by comparability when talking about digital assessment, and how our Digital High Stakes Assessment Programme is balancing innovation and comparability of outcomes.

Digital assessment is growing from strength to strength. Besides innovative new assessments – including those integrated within learning tools – there’s demand for existing high stakes assessments to be available on screen. But it's not as simple as migrating all our existing paper tests onto screen. In this blog, we zoom in on the particularities of maths and science.

There are so many changes to education that it can be difficult to keep track of them all or remember what they were about. In this blog, Nicky Rushton talks about the Register of Change and the latest additions to it covering the effects of COVΙD-19 on schooling, general qualifications and vocational and technical qualifications.

As part of our SHAPE Education initiative, Cambridge University Press & Assessment is hosting monthly ‘SHAPE Live’ debates with experts on the future of education. On Tuesday, 1 March we discussed how, as educators and an education system, we can personalise learning. Brendan Wightman, secondary digital publishing lead (English) at Cambridge University Press & Assessment, reflects on the recent event.

All examinations contain a mix of questions that vary in how they discriminate between student ability. Providing advance information (an intervention that is intended to make certain questions on an examination easier) will affect the difficulty of questions in different ways. Tom Bramley, Director of the Research Division, asks whether providing advance information could benefit some students more than others.

A new research report published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment explores what we mean by competence. Two of three authors, Sylvia Vitello and Jackie Greatorex, explain the background to the report, what’s in it, and why clarity about what competence means is so important.

With all the work which has gone into creating our archive of thousands of assessments, that were developed using research evidence and quality assured, why don’t we just put our existing assessments on screen?

We recently reported on our research that catalogued in detail the experiences of 15 teachers based in England from diaries they were asked to keep during the first half of 2021. This blog describes how the research team set about collecting the data and sets out some of the insights the teachers provided.

Hear from Loic Menzies, former teacher and Chief Executive of The Centre for Education and Youth, researcher, and policy specialist on the key points and next steps for his series Mapping the Way to a More Equitable Future for Education.

Research and Thought Leadership Lead, Sarah Hughes explores, the definition of the term ‘digital’ and what that means for the future of assessment.

In the latest blog in our series on outline principles for the future of education, Tim Oates CBE, Director of Assessment Research and Development at Cambridge University Press & Assessment, challenges ‘Year Zero’ thinking in many of the discussions about future learning.

In the latest blog in our series on outline principles for the future of education, Tim Oates CBE discusses and explores how reforming qualifications and assessment and implementing massive change to the system could affect the education sector as a whole.

In the latest blog in our series on outline principles for the future of education, Tim Oates CBE takes a look at the history of GCSEs in England to understand how the introduction of the qualification has benefitted young people.

Qualifications are central to key processes in societies and economies around the world and we should see their delivery as a public good, Tim Oates CBE argues in the latest blog in our series on outline principles for the future of education.

As part of our SHAPE Education initiative, we’re hosting monthly debates with experts on the future of education. This month we discussed how, as educators and an education system, we can prepare students to thrive in the future world. Dan Hutchinson, Proposition Director, Higher Education & Adult at Cambridge University Press ELT reflects on the recent event.

The last year and a half have seen enormous changes for education in England and the impact of the pandemic on education and assessment will continue to be felt for many years to come.

What do grades awarded during the Covid pandemic mean? And how do they compare to grades awarded in previous years?

What is the future of English language teaching in schools? What do we need to do to support the future of English language education? Who decides on the curriculum? Read a summary of the discussions in this final part in our series of blogs reflecting on the week-long SHAPE Education: The Future of Schools event.

Do you really know what A Level grades in England mean and how they are determined? And do you understand what is meant by grade inflation? In this blog, we invite you to explore these concepts with us as we attempt to minimise the mystery and provide clarity.

In this blog, on the penultimate day of the five-day SHAPE Education: The Future of Schools event we focus on educational technology. The speakers discussed the role they see technology playing in education by 2040.

We have all sat exams and are familiar with the idea of having papers marked. In many cases these marks are then converted into grades, but why? This is the question we tackle in this first of four blogs in a mini-series focused on grading and standards.

In this blog, on the third day of the five-day SHAPE Education: The Future of Schools event we focus on learners and their future needs for work. Questions and discussions centred on where we work, how we work, and how this will have to change for the future.

In this blog, on the second day of the five-day SHAPE Education: The Future of Schools event we focus specifically on what education will look like in 20 years’ time.

In this blog, we focus on the first day of the five-day event which aimed to unpack social issues facing the future of education, demonstrate the complexity of the issues in global and local contexts, and identify ways that we might respond to the emerging challenges.

The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed many schools to use and rely on digital technology in order to continue teaching and learning. In this blog, we examine and address concerns that the move to remote education has highlighted digital inequality within UK education.

Over the last 12 months existing digital platforms used to deliver English learning and assessment have been fully road tested, but what does this mean for the teacher of the future? To answer this question we look at the types of technology that are making an impact in language education.

In our latest future of education blog we explore how theory and evidence in relation to cognitive science has the potential to benefit learning and teacher practices.

As part of our SHAPE Education initiative, we’re hosting monthly debates with educational experts on the future of education. This month we discussed why we need to reimagine the way that skills development happens in our current education system, and explored the model of peer-to-peer learning.

In this week's principles for the future of education blog Tim Oates CBE examines education reform in terms of how, when and what. 

Following the All Party Parliamentary Group for Oracy’s 'Speak for Change' report, Tim Oates examines the synthesis of the evidence on oracy as a vital part of high-quality schooling.

In this blog explore what is meant by curriculum coherence, and examine possible connections between curriculum coherence and learner attainment.

As part of our SHAPE Education initiative, we’re hosting monthly debates with educational experts on the future of education. This month we asked 'What can we remove from education?' and discussed how we can learn from the way the educational landscape has changed in the last year in relation to the attainment and wellbeing of learners.

A group called Rethinking Assessment has called for GCSEs to be scrapped. But why, and do their arguments hold any merit? Barnaby Lenon examines the case for an overhaul of our exam system.

As part of the discussion about getting rid or reforming qualifications in different parts of the world Tim Oates CBE, Director of Assessment Research and Development, takes a close look at how carefully selected questions both stimulate thought and reveal the way in which pupils are thinking.

Reform of secondary education in England has been a topic of great attention. Many of those calling for change have suggested scrapping A Levels, often in favour of ‘baccalaureate-style’ systems. This blog looks at the truth behind the argument that students currently have limited choice post-16.

Teacher training and development is an integral part of a thriving education ecosystem. At the latest Global Online Learning Alliance, 90 education leaders from around the world met to discuss actions and policies across borders, and to make recommendations for the future.

First and second language skills are a benefit to learners and, in today’s globalised world, are an important benefit to society too. Here Freelance Language and Assessment Specialist Kirsten Sutton explores the many advantages of bilingualism and how bilingual speakers can gain a different perspective of the world.

As the call and need for digital assessment continues to grow, across Cambridge Assessment we are actively exploring what qualifications purely designed for delivery and taking in a digital format might look like.

Could more continuous assessment make the high-stakes GCSE and A Level exam system in England more robust? Tom Bramley explores the idea of relying on more teacher assessment in the second part of a blog series on the robustness and resilience of the exam system.

The coronavirus pandemic has made many people question whether the exam system in England is sufficiently robust or resilient. In a two part blog series Tom Bramley looks at the robustness of online assessment and teacher assessment.

Many students will be going through a mixture of emotions, including feelings of stress and anxiety around how their grades will be awarded this summer and how this will impact their future. Professor David Putwain offers practical tips on how to reduce and manage anxiety that will be useful for students, parents and their teachers, this year and beyond.

One area of great rhetoric in education surrounds ‘individualised’ or ‘personalised’ learning. These terms are often used interchangeably, which may or may not be appropriate depending on the intentions of the author. Tim Oates looks at the greater importance of what it translates into from the perspective of individual students.

eLearning Manager for Cambridge Assessment International Education, Andrew Field, looks at teaching and technology in 2021 and the opportunities for the future.

There is clear insight to be drawn from past crises, and an opportunity to not just catch-up on learning after the impact of Covid, but actually to improve student attainment now and in the future.

We’ve undertaken a comprehensive study of Repeatedly High Performing Jurisdictions around the world and found that among these countries, those that don’t assess externally at the end of basic secondary education are the real minority.

It is not possible to discuss one aspect of an education system without considering the potential implications for other parts. We have found a way of navigating these debates and joining the dots.