Variability in GCSE Controlled Assessments Subject to High Levels of Control: Ipsos MORI's `Evaluation of the Introduction of Controlled Assessment' (2011) and its Implications for Controlled Assessments in English Literature

Author： Vowles C.G.

Publisher： Routledge Ltd

ISSN： 1469-3585

Source： Changing English, Vol.19, Iss.4, 2012-12, pp. : 439-449

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Abstract

Controlled assessment (CA) was introduced as a valid and reliable replacement for coursework in GCSE English and English Literature assessments in 2009. I argue that CA lacks clear definition, typically mimics externally-assessed public examinations and, when interrogated through the Crooks eight-link chain model, is undermined by several threats to validity, reliability and fairness. This is evidenced by the professional experiences of CA stakeholders consulted by Ipsos MORI in their 2011 `Evaluation of the Introduction of Controlled Assessment'; the theoretical threats to validity that may arise during the administration, scoring, aggregation, generalisation, extrapolation, evaluation, decision and impact stages of CA events; and problems of perception concerning CA in English and English Literature that derive from competing purposes. I conclude that CA has not yet proved itself a valid, reliable and apposite replacement for coursework, and that further refinement is necessary if CA is to fulfil this purpose.