Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) Assessment, Feedback and Data Syllabus

Assessment, Feedback and Data syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Assessment, Feedback and Data in Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Principles of Assessment

   3 topics

   • Purposes of assessment
     • Assessment for learning (formative)
     • Assessment of learning (summative)
   • Validity, reliability and avoiding bias
   • Making assessment manageable and meaningful
2. 2

   Formative Assessment in Practice

   4 topics

   • Eliciting evidence of learning in lessons
   • Diagnostic questioning and hinge questions
   • Responsive teaching and adaptive next steps
   • Self- and peer-assessment
3. 3

   Feedback and Marking

   3 topics

   • Principles of effective feedback
   • Reducing teacher workload while maintaining impact
     • Whole-class feedback
     • Live marking and verbal feedback
   • Closing the gap and acting on feedback
4. 4

   National Assessment, Qualifications and Data

   4 topics

   • Statutory assessments: EYFS Profile, phonics check and SATs
   • GCSEs, A levels and vocational qualifications
   • Using and interpreting pupil progress data
   • Standardisation and moderation

Assessment, Feedback and Data flashcards for Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)

22 of 50 cards from the Assessment, Feedback and Data deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the three broad purposes of assessment in education?

   Assessment OF learning (summative — judging attainment at a point in time), assessment FOR learning (formative — informing teaching and improving learning), and assessment AS learning (developing pupils' self-regulation and metacognition).

2. Define formative assessment.

   Assessment used to gather evidence of learning during teaching so that teachers and pupils can adapt next steps; its purpose is to improve learning, not to grade it. Also called assessment for learning (AfL).

3. Define summative assessment.

   Assessment that summarises attainment at the end of a period of learning (e.g. an exam, end-of-unit test or report), used to make a judgement about what a pupil has achieved.

4. What is ipsative assessment?

   Assessment that compares a pupil's current performance against their own previous performance, measuring personal progress rather than against peers or a fixed standard.

5. Distinguish criterion-referenced from norm-referenced assessment.

   Criterion-referenced judges a pupil against fixed standards/criteria (e.g. 'can solve linear equations'). Norm-referenced ranks a pupil relative to others in a cohort (e.g. percentile/standardised score).

6. In assessment, what is validity?

   The extent to which an assessment actually measures what it claims to measure, and that the inferences drawn from the results are appropriate for the intended purpose.

7. In assessment, what is reliability?

   The extent to which an assessment produces consistent, repeatable results — across markers, occasions and equivalent versions — so that the same performance yields the same outcome.

8. What is construct validity?

   The degree to which an assessment measures the underlying concept or 'construct' (e.g. mathematical reasoning) it is intended to measure, rather than something else.

9. What is construct under-representation as a threat to validity?

   When an assessment samples too narrow a slice of the domain, failing to capture the full construct (e.g. testing reading with only multiple-choice recall), so inferences about overall ability are weakened.

10. What is construct-irrelevant variance?

    When something unrelated to the target construct affects scores (e.g. complex wording, cultural references, time pressure), introducing bias and reducing validity.

11. Why can validity and reliability be in tension?

    Highly reliable tasks (e.g. multiple choice) may narrow what is assessed and reduce validity, while rich authentic tasks raise validity but are harder to mark consistently, lowering reliability. Good assessment balances both.

12. Name three common sources of bias in assessment.

    Cultural/contextual bias (unfamiliar references), language bias (reading demand unrelated to the skill tested), and marker bias (inconsistency or stereotyping). Mitigated by inclusive item design, mark schemes, blind marking and moderation.

13. What does it mean for assessment to be 'manageable and meaningful'?

    Manageable: proportionate workload that teachers can sustain and act on. Meaningful: it produces useful information that genuinely improves teaching and learning, rather than data collected for its own sake.

14. According to the DfE-commissioned principles, what three questions should marking and feedback policies answer?

    Is it meaningful, manageable, and motivating? Feedback should drive learning, be sustainable for teachers, and encourage pupils — avoiding excessive written marking with no impact.

15. What does 'eliciting evidence of learning' mean in a lesson?

    Using techniques during teaching to surface what pupils currently know and can do — so misconceptions become visible and teaching can respond in the moment (e.g. mini-whiteboards, cold call, exit tickets).

16. Why is 'all-pupil response' (e.g. mini-whiteboards) more effective than hands-up for elicitation?

    It gathers evidence from every pupil simultaneously rather than a self-selecting few, giving a representative, real-time picture of class understanding and exposing hidden misconceptions.

17. What is 'cold calling' and why is it used?

    Asking a named pupil to answer rather than taking volunteers. It keeps all pupils thinking and accountable and gives the teacher a more representative sample of understanding than hands-up.

18. What is a diagnostic question?

    A question (often multiple-choice) designed so that each wrong answer reveals a specific, common misconception, allowing the teacher to diagnose precisely what a pupil misunderstands.

19. What are the design features of a good multiple-choice diagnostic question?

    A single clear correct answer, plausible distractors each tied to a known misconception, and answerable in roughly 20 seconds so it can be used in real time. Ideally it cannot be answered correctly for the wrong reason.

20. What is a hinge question?

    A diagnostic question asked at a 'hinge' point in a lesson whose responses determine whether to move on or reteach. The whole class answers quickly and the teacher decides the next step based on the spread of responses.

21. What two criteria did Dylan Wiliam set for a hinge question?

    (1) Every pupil should be able to respond within about a minute; (2) the teacher should be able to view and interpret all responses within about 30 seconds, so the lesson can pivot immediately.

22. Define responsive teaching.

    An approach (term popularised by Harry Fletcher-Wood) where teachers continually elicit evidence of learning and adapt their teaching in response — combining formative assessment, cognitive science and deliberate practice.

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