Category: Testing

R.test – the test for SAT and ACT preparedness

“The ambition is to scale up AI-powered test prep to provide effective education across a wide range of subjects and learning environments”

I am always excited to see new innovations that have the potential to make learning more accessible and effective, and that’s why I am thrilled to launch R.test, an AI-powered application from Riiid designed to help students prepare for standardised tests such as the SAT and ACT.

What makes R.test so exciting is its ability to predict test scores with high accuracy in a fraction of the time it takes to complete a full mock test.

With just 30 questions, R.test quickly evaluates a student’s test preparedness and provides detailed analysis of their knowledge and test-taking strategy. It even provides students with actionable guidance on how to improve, including a selection of relevant practice questions curated by the AI engine.

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Finding the next Einstein in Cambodia

“English-language tests – the first step of the overseas education journey – remain out of reach for many”

In education, we use the word “access” a lot. But not everyone understands it in the same way. My own definition is simple – anybody who would like to get an education can get one. That’s what access means.

Without access to education, the world is missing out on a lot. By lowering barriers, we might find the next Einstein in Cambodia, but without access those minds might be missed.

We should also be able to provide the brightest minds the education they need to thrive.

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Is old-fashioned English testing holding the UK back from its international student and skills ambitions?

“It’s time to let English language testing catch up with innovation across other parts of the economy – specially if we have ambitions to be a digitally driven, high-skill nation”

We’ve heard a lot about levelling-up and the UK’s ambition to be a leader in all things digital and technology recently.

At times it feels like we’re making significant progress. Universities showed great agility and innovation to offer digital learning solutions, which will enhance the education experience for years to come.

And the government did too. The passport office and UKVI upped their ability to process applications digitally. UKVI even developed ways to take biometric information securely and scan passports with NFC technology in mobile apps. They even moved citizenship ceremonies online over Zoom.

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What could and should replace the IGCSE and GCSE?

“Students don’t currently have the soft skills needed to prepare them for the workplace”

It looks increasingly likely that a new system of post qualification offers from universities will replace the current system of offers being made before IB/BTEC and A Level results are announced.

This change inevitably raises the question about the value and current content of GCSEs and IGCSEs. If they are no longer needed to inform a university offer, are they still fit for purpose? Pat Moores of UK Education Guide looks at the options.

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The campaign trying to make subtitles the default for kids’ TV

“If you suddenly found subtitles on your children’s Netflix account last year – that wasn’t a coincidence”

This story starts back in 2019, when Henry Warren had a conversation with Oli Barrett over coffee about a news article that Oli had read on how turning on subtitles on children’s TV content had a dramatic positive impact on their reading proficiency, writes Nina Hale from the Turn On The Subtitles campaign. 

Slightly sceptical but intrigued, the two sought out the academic who had conducted the study and took his research, along with a mountain of similar studies, to The National Literacy Trust to review.

Once validated, they set off on a quest to make sure this information reached every household with young children.

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The link between language proficiency requirements and diversity

“Lower score requirements may be acceptable if sufficient English language support is offered”

Diversity is a core value of higher education institutions, and consequently an important consideration for admissions decisions colleges and universities make every year.

While international applicants can help achieve diversity goals, institutions need to decide whether such applicants can cope with the language demands of instruction delivered in English.

This decision is not straightforward because, although English-language proficiency is a key element for academic success, other factors including subject-related knowledge and non-cognitive attributes play a role in future academic performance.

Because of the complex nature of academic language proficiency, requirements for English-language proficiency test scores are essential to the admission process for international students.

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Why verifying the qualifications of students matters

“Verifying students’ qualifications has become a major requirement but it doesn’t need to be a major hurdle.”

If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, writes Abdel Abu-Qoura  of Qualification Check, it’s that no matter how advanced and evolved our lives might be – there are fundamental components of life which are at its core. Think about health, sanitation and security. Security – whether it’s as an employee or an employer, student or a university – means personal stability but also safeguarding a family or an organisation. It’s an element of life and business which has always existed and always will.

As the nature of the educational world changes, and student recruitment and application processes transition, security needs to remain intact. Universities need to be confident about who they’re accepting as students and verification is the best way to do that.

Verifying students’ qualifications has become a major requirement but it doesn’t need to be a major hurdle. Indeed, verification should be seen as helpful rather than a hindrance to the application process. It’s a valuable tool in empowering organisations to assess the fundamentals of a candidate, gaining insights into their honesty and integrity before accepting them.

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Why should an English-language proficiency test be backed by research?

“Test providers should carefully research the types of tasks students need to perform and replicate such tasks as accurately as possible.”

English-language classrooms around the world all look and function differently, writes Spiros Papageorgiou of ETS. But one common thread among them is that teachers of English consistently look for reliable information from language tests to assess whether their students have achieved specific learning goals.

Students who wish to pursue a degree in an English-speaking country are typically asked to submit scores from a language test to demonstrate that they can cope with the language demands their university classes require.

As such, developers of these language tests should be establishing a rigorous program of research in order to support the intended uses of these tests, and further be able to provide evidence that substantiates claims about what test takers know or can do based on their scores.

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What lessons can we learn from PISA ranking leader Finland? 

” In Finland for example, there is no national testing, no school inspections and no school league tables”

The latest  Program for International Student Assessment results has prompted questions about what certain countries are doing better than others when it comes to the quality, equity and efficiency of school systems around the globe. In this blog, head of School at ACS International School Cobham, Barnaby Sandow, explores some of the lessons that can be learned from Finland.

Scandinavian countries are world-famous for promoting happiness and wellbeing – and also for their exceptional education, whether measured in academic results, student happiness or overall progress to learning objectives.

You may have seen the 2019 PISA results recently which illustrated that most countries – particularly in the developed world – have seen little improvement in their performances over the past decade, even though spending on education increased by 15 per cent over the same period.

The report – outlined in this insightful editorial comment  – concludes that huge numbers of graduates are therefore likely to struggle to find their way through life in an increasingly volatile, digital world.

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Do you speak English? It’s complicated.

“Identifying the gaps in language proficiency for each individual is only the beginning”

Kate Bell is co-author of the EF English Proficiency Index. In this blog, Bell examines how subtleties in employee proficiency affect the types and depth of language training that employers must provide.

From the outside, foreign language proficiency looks simple—either you speak a language or you don’t—but anyone who grew up receiving calls from grandparents abroad or who has worked for a few years in a foreign country knows that most people’s linguistic terrain is more of a swamp than a soccer field.

This is because our language skills develop over the course of decades as a result of inclination, exposure, education, and practice.

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