This paper reports improvements in teacher job performance, as measured by student test scores, resulting from a program of (zero-) low-stakes peer evaluation. Teachers working at the same school observed and scored each other's teaching. Students in randomly-assigned treatment schools scored 0.07[sigma] higher on math and English exams…

This paper presents an evaluation of "Literacy for Life" (LfL) -- a whole-school literacy programme, implemented in five secondary schools in England. The aims of LfL were to improve literacy attainment and to promote positive attitudes to reading and writing. However, when compared to other schools, there is little or no evidence that…

Background: The paper discusses how the design of summative assessments of practical science can be enhanced through the use of robust theoretical models that capture the diversity of scientific methods. The developments in assessment policy in England and the role of practical science in teaching and learning of science are reviewed. Purpose: The…

There are growing concerns over young people's mental health, the academic pressures they face, and the association between school-related stress and health. Given this, alongside the known benefits of physical activity for psychological health, the need for school-based interventions with a physical activity focus seems justified. This paper…

Disappointed that the use of the "PEEL" writing scaffold had led her Year 11 students to write some rather dreary essays, Claire Simmonds reflected that a lack of specific training on historical writing might be to blame. Drawing on genre theory and the work of the history teaching community, Simmonds attempted to theorise the…

The paper reports a study that investigated the relationship between students' self-predicted and actual General Certificate of Secondary Education results in order to establish the extent of over-and under-prediction and whether this varies by subject and across genders and socio-economic groupings. It also considered the relationship between…

This paper draws on some of the findings from a research study which examined the current structure of assessment for citizenship in secondary education in England and considers the rationale for the assessment of citizenship. The research included an empirical evaluation of citizenship assessment from the perspective of the key user groups,…