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 gives information about what was assessed in the APU monitoring of students’ performance aged 11 (a short-hand for children between the ages of 10 years 9 months and 11 years 8 months). After a brief summary of the background to the APU...

This APU report for teachers describes the aspect of the science surveys where the science project broke new ground. The reason for including practical tasks was the emphasis placed on practical work in science, requiring a range of skills.

It was considered that science performance could not be adequately...

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 report for teachers focuses on students’ planning of investigations. Although considered important in several respects, Rep...

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...

Produced in 2009-2010, Assessing Pupils Progress (APP) was produced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and is a structured approach to periodic assessment, written to enable teachers to use diagnostic information about students’ strengths and weaknesses and to track students’ progress.

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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...

The glacier experiment sequence from the previous two lessons is repeated here, accompanied by the glacier vulnerability score chart. Two sets of student assessment tasks are given for levels three to seven. One of these allows teachers to print and distribute the questions most suitable to their class or to...

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...