High stakes summative assessment has been a significant element of educational policy in England and Wales for more than a decade. However, research evidence indicates that formative assessment is more likely to raise student achievement. Although some students are able to use summative assessment formatively, devising their own self-regulated…

The article discusses selected findings of a narrative review, funded by the Institute of Physics, in response to the continuing decline in the number of girls studying physics post-16 in England; 177 selected sources, of national and international research literature about girls' participation in physics, were reviewed. In the article, we argue…