Your CPD programme

Build your own CPD programme

Delegates at a training course

Ready-made training options

Take your pick of training sessions from our menu to make your own learning programme. We offer webinar and face-to-face training either at your workplace, our dedicated facilities in Cambridge or an alternative location. Find out more by opening each session title below.

Once you’ve decided what works best for you complete our enquiry form to provide us with further details of your chosen assessment learning programme. One of our Network team will then be in touch as soon as possible with a quotation and to confirm arrangements.

If you would like to discuss your needs further with us, please contact Simon Child, Head of Assessment Training, using the details below:

Email: thenetwork@cambridgeassessment.org.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1223 552727

Submit an enquiry

Select the headings below to find out more about each session.

The purposes and principles of good assessment

Take this session to

  • Learn about assessment concepts to inform practice.
  • Identify your current assessment issues.
  • Improve assessment quality by planning effective enquiries.

Learning goals

  1. Understand the key terms and principles behind good assessment and how to apply these in your area.
  2. Describe and explain important assessment issues specific to your practice.
  3. Reflect on how key principles are used to design assessments.
  4. Predict how changing the way you design and develop assessments may impact on their effectiveness: their validity, reliability and fairness.

Your options

  • Webinar or face-to-face course - 1.5 hours
  • Face-to-face session - 3 hours

Writing effective multiple-choice questions

Take this session to

  • Enhance the design and development of your multiple-choice questions.
  • Become proficient/experts in writing multiple-choice questions.
  • Critique past items/questions you have written.

Learning goals

  1. Understand the relationship between the principles of assessment and MCQ design.
  2. Identify issues with MCQs.
  3. Develop improvements to each stage of your MCQ design.

Your options

  • Webinar or face-to-face course - 2 hours
  • Face-to-face session – 1 day

Writing effective examination assessment questions

Take this session to

  • Enhance the design and development of your item types.
  • Develop your expertise in item writing.
  • Critique past items/questions you have developed.

Learning goals

  1. Understand the relationship between principles of assessment and assessment design.
  2. Identify issues with assessment items.
  3. Improve each stage of your assessment development.
  4. Modify assessment design.

Your options

  • Face-to-face session – 1 day

Enhancing feedback literacy and practices

Take this session to

  • Understand how 'assessment literacy' can be defined and conceptualised for students and teachers.
  • Explore different approaches to optimising student feedback.
  • Reflect on different ways to improve student engagement with feedback.

Learning goals

  1. Consider concepts of 'assessment literacy'.
  2. Explore and use strategies to optimise feedback.
  3. Consider how to improve student engagement with feedback.

Your options

  • Webinar or face-to-face course - 1.5 hours

Skills and competency assessment – when not to use an exam

Take this session to

  • Understand how to assess 'competence' effectively
  • Explore a range of different approaches to assessing 'competence' and 21st century skills, drawing upon real-world examples.
  • Understand and reflect on the validity, reliability, fairness and practicality issues that can arise when assessing skills and psycho-social factors alongside knowledge.

Learning goals

  1. Understand competence as comprising knowledge, skills and psycho-social factors.
  2. Understand the validity, reliability, fairness and practicality challenges that can arise when assessing competence and 21st century skills.
  3. Explore different assessment approaches and task types that can effectively assess competence and 21st century skills.

Your options

  • Webinar or face-to-face course - 1.5 hours

Developing your assessment framework

Take this session to

  • Reflect upon different assessments you use and how they relate to each other.
  • Support curriculum change or innovations in assessment through your choice of assessment approaches.

Learning goals

  1. Use an assessment framework in your context.
  2. Analyse the effectiveness of assessment frameworks.
  3. Use assessment frameworks to improve your curriculum consistency and support assessment-related decisions.

Your options

  • Webinar or face-to-face course - 1.5 hours

Understanding and optimising your mark schemes

Take this session to

  • Explore different approaches to mark schemes.
  • Enhance your mark schemes.

Learning goals

  1. Understand the theory of good mark scheme design.
  2. Understand mark scheme best practice.
  3. Identify issues with mark schemes.
  4. Create effective mark schemes.

Your options

  • Webinar or face-to-face course - 1.5 hours
  • Face-to-face session - 3 hours

Evaluating the quality of your assessments and questions

Take this session to

  • Evaluate assessments using qualitative and quantitative data.
  • Identify potential issues with assessments using evidence.
  • Make your assessments more effective.

Learning goals

  1. Interpret qualitative and quantitative assessment data.
  2. Use data to inform and justify assessment-related decisions.
  3. Evaluate assessment quality.

Your options

  • Webinar or face-to-face course - 1.5 hours
  • Face-to-face session - 3 hours

Statistical analysis of multiple-choice question data

Take this session to

  • Use statistics to determine if multiple choice items have worked.
  • Help justify assessment-related decisions.

Learning goals

  1. Understand classical statistics.
  2. Use data to inform and justify assessment-related decisions.
  3. Evaluate item quality.

Your options

  • Webinar or face-to-face course - 1.5 hours

Introduction to computer-adaptive testing (CAT)

Take this session to

  • Understand the theory of computer adaptive testing (CAT).
  • Identify how to introduce adaptive testing in your context.

Learning goals

  1. Identify areas where computer adaptive testing can be used.
  2. Describe the key concepts of computer adaptive testing.
  3. Reflect on the potential to develop a computer adaptive test in your context.

Your options

  • Webinar – 1 hour

Introduction to Rasch/Item response theory and item banking

Take this session to

  • Understand Item Response Theory models (IRT) and Rasch.
  • Reflect on how to develop assessments that utilise IRT and item banking.

Learning goals

  1. Identify where Rasch/IRT testing and item banking is used.
  2. Describe the key concepts of Rasch/IRT analysis and item banking.
  3. Reflect on the potential to develop Rasch/IRT and item banking approaches.

Your options

  • Webinar or face-to-face course - 2 hours

Considerations when looking to innovate with e-assessment

Take this session to

  • Understand the issues and drivers to consider when looking to innovate using e-assessment.

Learning goals

  1. Understand practical considerations when introducing e-assessment.
  2. Identify what to consider when introducing e-assessment.
  3. Consider the relationship between digitising assessments and validity.

Your options

  • Webinar or face-to-face course - 1.5 hours

Related links

Contact the Network

Please contact us for further information about the Network courses and bespoke training.