This paper explores gender differential performance in "gifted and talented" 9- and 13-year-olds in a mathematics assessment in England. Boys' and girls' attitudes to mathematics and their views about which gender is better at mathematics are also considered. The study employs the use of a matched sample of boys and girls so that school, age and…

Diverse strategies for marking GCSE examinations have been identified, ranging from simple automatic judgements to complex cognitive operations requiring considerable expertise. However, little is known about patterns of strategy usage or how such information could be utilised by examiners. We conducted a quantitative analysis of previous verbal…

This study was designed to examine the extent to which "content" accounts for variance in scores assigned in automated essay scoring protocols. Specifically it was hypothesised that certain writing genre would emphasise content more than others. Data were drawn from 1668 essays calibrated at two grade levels (6 and 8) using "e-rater[TM]", an…

This paper contrasts the role and approach taken by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) with that of the OECD in the conduct of their respective large-scale assessment programmes. It is argued that the differences in the approaches taken in the conduct of the respective assessments are not merely…

In response to Barry McGaw's article "The role of the OECD in international comparative studies of achievement", this contribution explores two issues which the author considers closely interrelated. The first issue concerns the quality of the items produced to assess reading skills in the OECD-PISA and OECD-SIALS studies and the consistency…

The Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) II data are analysed, using multilevel modelling techniques, to explore the key issues underlying the development of school effectiveness models. Differences between schools in Grade 6 pupils' reading and mathematics achievements are examined and the percentage…

In their reactions to my paper, the four authors provide comments that are illuminating and helpful for continuing discussions of the nature and utility of quantitative, comparative, international studies of educational achievement. In this response, I comment further on the issues of test characteristics, sample design, culture and causation.

While international comparisons such as those provided by PISA may be meaningful in terms of overall judgements about the performance of educational systems, caution is needed in terms of more fine-grained judgements. In particular it is argued that the results of PISA to draw conclusions about the quality of instruction in different systems is…

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) underpins its extensive policy work with strong databases of comparable statistics and indicators with which it compares countries. In 2000, it extended its education database with its first collection of data on the performances of 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics and science…

Barry McGaw, Education Director of the OECD until December 2005, has described and evaluated the current programme of international comparative assessment surveys, notably the PISA programme. Any international survey will have its stronger and its weaker points. With a high profile programme like PISA, there is a risk that the limitations will be…

This paper draws on semi-structured interview data and participant observations of senior secondary Physical Education (PE) teachers and students at two school sites across 20 weeks of the school year. The data indicated that the teachers in this study made progressive judgements about students' level of achievement across each unit of work…

This article describes the Canadian education system and provincial/territorial, national, and international large-scale assessment (LSA) programmes that currently operate within this large multicultural country. We highlight the policy implications of LSA programmes within Canada's 10 provinces and three northern territories, and how the country…

Equity in assessment concerns all educational authorities and practitioners. While educators commonly consider issues of equity in terms of accommodations for students with special needs, or addressing cultural difference, equity issues in educational assessment have emerged outside these bases. This paper examines equity assessment issues,…

We investigated the impact of self-assessment training on student achievement and on computer self-efficacy in a technology-supported learning environment (grade 9 students using Global Information Systems software). We found that self-assessment had a positive effect on student achievement, accounting for 25% of the variance across three…

This paper reports a study of the classroom assessment practices of 12 sixth form college mathematics teachers in Malta. It explores the extent to which these teachers are knowledgeable about their students' learning of mathematics and the implications that this has for their classroom practices. It reveals that these teachers' knowledge of their…