Blog
Posts for category: Opinion
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What does a four‑year‑old Clumber Spaniel named Bruin have in common with Olympic breakdancing and modern examinations?
On the surface, nothing at all. Bruin is a gentle, long‑backed gundog who has just trotted his way to Best in Show at Crufts, padding calmly down the famous green carpet while the NEC holds its breath. Breakers will spin and freeze their way across an Olympic floor to pounding music. Examiners sit alone with stacks of scripts and detailed mark schemes. Three very different worlds, three very different kinds of performance.
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If AI Is Serious About Learning Outcomes, ‘Ground Truth’ Has to Mean More Than Last Year’s Exam Scores (Part 2/2)
In Part 1 of this series, we asked who gets to define “learning” in an AI world and argued for a human‑grounded validity layer alongside AI‑native analytics. That conversation becomes very concrete when you look at one small, easy‑to‑miss element in OpenAI’s Learning Outcomes Measurement Suite diagram
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Who Gets to Define “Learning” in an AI World? (Part 1/2)
OpenAI’s new “Learning Outcomes Measurement Suite” is more than a product announcement; it is a bid to define how AI‑mediated learning will be measured – and, by implication, what will count as learning in the years ahead
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Newsletter March 2026
For this edition we have produced a couple of series focusing on two critical considerations in the world of assessment, and education more generally. The 'AI World' is moving fast and finding time for necessary thinking and consideration has never been more important.
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Roadmap Update - Compass and maps
In the world of education and assessment, the terrain shifts daily. A “map” - whether it’s a static dashboard or a rigid three-year product plan - is only truly useful if the world stands still. But when the environment moves faster than your plan, a map quickly becomes a liability.
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The Recruitment Arms Race: Why We Are Losing the "Signal in the Noise"
The latest edition of the Inside your Ed podcast, titled "Why are so many graduates struggling to find a job?", highlights a growing crisis in the graduate labour market. While much of the conversation focuses on economic cooling, a key section reveals a more systemic failure: the total collapse of the traditional hiring process.
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The Future of Assessment: Key Takeaways from the OECD Digital Education Outlook 2026
The release of the OECD Digital Education Outlook 2026 has sparked a vital conversation across the global education community. As Generative AI (GenAI) becomes a permanent fixture in the classroom, the report raises a fundamental question: How do we measure what truly matters when technology can simulate mastery at the touch of a button?
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Beyond the Black Box: Why Ofqual’s AI Principles are a Gift to Assessment Innovation
The publication of Ofqual’s Principles of AI Use in Marking brings some welcome guardrails to a landscape that, until recently, felt a bit like the "Wild West". For those of us in the assessment sector, the sudden explosion of AI capabilities felt both exhilarating and at times lawless.
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The Reliability Paradox: Why the Future of Assessment will be more Nondeterministic
In a previous post, we explored the "Three Mirrors" of assessment - the Left, Right, and Centre views that together provide a complete picture of learner performance. Today, we want to look deeper into the glass. Specifically, we want to discuss why the "Left Mirror" (Holistic Assessment) works so differently from the "Right Mirror" (Absolute Assessment), and why the future of high-stakes evaluation is becoming more nondeterministic.