Scientists at the University of Oxford are investigating the link between sporting activity in young people and the development of osteoarthritis. In very active people, bony lesions can form on the hip joint which increases their risk of developing the condition.

This APU report for teachers focuses on the performance of students aged 15 in a range of test questions concerning metals. This subject was chosen since metals are the commonest examples of elements which students meet in their everyday lives. Questions reported were...

This APU Science report for teachers sets out the view of science that underpinned decisions about what to assess in the surveys of students at ages 13 and 15. The view led to attention being focused on activities associated with solving problems scientifically. These...

This APU report for teachers focuses on the performance of students aged 15 in a range of test questions concerning electricity. It presents the findings in a sequence in which it suggests that different activities are generally encountered by students. An...

This APU Science report for teachers is based on a selection of the questions used in the surveys of students aged 13 and 15 in the surveys carried out in 1981 and 1982 to assess the performance of investigations. These were complete investigations carried out individually by students working alone. Reference is...

These diagnostic questions and response activities (contained in the zip file) support students in being able to:

• Distinguish between the energy in the kinetic store of an object and the object’s speed.
• Describe how mass and speed affect the amount of energy in the kinetic store of the object...

The Nuffield Secondary Science guide to examining at CSE was aimed at teachers and examiners. It began the quest, still continuing today, to find appropriate ways to examine science across the whole ability range.

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This set of subject criteria were produced by the Ofqual, the Welsh Assembly and CEA (Northern Ireland) for Awarding Bodies to produce subject specifications for use in 2011 GCSE Science, GCSE Additional Science, GCSE Additional Applied Science, GCSE Biology, GCSE Chemistry, and GCSE Physics. GCSE specifications...

This report from Ofsted describes how assessment in science is most effective where it is used as a teaching tool as well as a means of judging attainment. Similarly the assessment of practical coursework is not just a means of assigning students to levels but of giving them the information they need to improve...

Produced in 2007, this is an an International Review of Curriculum and Assessment (INCA) thematic probe to compare compulsory assessment systems which the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) asked National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to undertake. It gathered information via the 20 INCA...

One of the first books to be produced by the Nuffield Science Teaching Project in the 1960s, this introduction outlines the Nuffield Chemistry scheme and how its new approach to teaching and assessment aimed to modernise the teaching of the subject for students aged 11-...

In Nuffield Physics constructive problems or questions that ask for active thinking largely took the place of pupils' reading in texts or background books. The first chapter in this book about tests and examinations provided guidance on the nature and purposes of the questions in the range of Question Books. The...

Produced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in 2009, this guidance supports the planning, development and implementation of the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties. It draws on effective practice across a range of schools and can be used in...

Commissioned by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, this Oxford University Centre for Educational Assessment review of teacher assessment in 2009 looked at teacher assessment in practice in a number of countries to see what works best and to consider the implications for Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP...

This resource is a compilation of reports by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and Ofqual reviewing standards over time in science subjects at GCSE and A levels.

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