Seminar: The validity of England's accountability data

Thu 1 October 2015

Downing College

In this lecture, Rob Coe will probe deeply into the form of accountability which has built up in England. Critical of Ofsted’s role and framework, the lecture will explore issues of validity and dependability in 'data on the system'.

We need to explore exactly what information the State needs, and be more clear about what data are needed by whom – the State, schools, parents. While the data themselves need to be robust, methods of collection need to be manageable and effective, analysis needs to be well-grounded, good understanding of assessment needs to be widely distributed, and the ‘washback’ from collection and reporting needs to be beneficial. Other nations, interested in system performance, do accountability very differently, and range of arguments for different approaches are strongly made, but evidence to support them is generally limited.

Professor Coe will explore the state of accountability in England, and ask whether we should think of the system as one which needs ‘fine-tuning’ or one which needs radical reform.

Cost: free