This new piece on my Substack is mainly a slightly revised version of something I wrote for @hollykorbey.bsky.social's The Bell Ringer last month with some initial comment on the "over-teaching phonics" debate which seems to be trending in the USA.
markgoodrich.substack.com/p/is-over-te...
I had a great time speaking at Cornerstone Academy Trust's writing conference yesterday.
They have been a pioneering Trust for our new AI assessments.
If you'd like to learn more, our next Comparative Judgement plus AI webinar is next Monday.
www.nomoremarking.com/events
Do knowledge-rich curriculums cause mental health problems? by superwoman @daisychristo.bsky.social
Key takeaways: Beware of using simple correlations as causalities and make comparisons with comparable data!
Question answer: No, they don't.
open.substack.com/pub/daisychr...
Great piece by @daisychristo.bsky.social debunking the idea that England's more rigorous school curriculum and assessment caused the decline in mental health.
TL:DR: Scotland + Wales have parallel declines - despite implementing opposite school policies.
substack.nomoremarking.com/p/do-knowled...
Our next Comparative Judgement plus AI webinar is just over a week away. Register now. All attendees get 30 free AI credits.
www.nomoremarking.com/events
Big news stories this week about Sweden & Norway moving away from screens in the classrooom.
People are realising that some technologies are just not suited for some purposes. It is hard to read deeply & concentrate on a tablet.
substack.nomoremarking.com/p/education-...
A rare example of a double #QTWTAIN in both the heading and sub-heading in this piece by @daisychristo.bsky.social. Paging @rentouljohn.bsky.social who won’t want to miss this!
open.substack.com/pub/daisychr...
I was just going to do one in the title, but I couldn't resist and changed the subtitle too.
It's become common lately to hear people say that rising attainment in English schools has been bought at the price of mental health problems.
Is this true? Have Gove-era reforms caused increased anxiety?
I dig into the international data to see...
substack.nomoremarking.com/p/do-knowled...
Our next webinar is on the 27th and is proving very popular! Register here. All attendees get 30 free AI credits to try out our new assessment system.
www.nomoremarking.com/events
How do you know your feedback is working?
We're currently running an exciting AI-assisted project where we can measure the impact of feedback on Year 6 student writing.
Read more here.
substack.nomoremarking.com/p/how-do-you...
If you would like to try out our new Comparative Judgement + AI marking system, read this article to find out how it works and how to get 30 free credits.
substack.nomoremarking.com/p/solving-ma...
Don't forget - our next Comparative Judgement + AI webinar is in 2 weeks - Mon 27th at 4pm.
If you take part, you'll get 30 free AI credits to try out our system on a set of your own essays.
www.nomoremarking.com/events
The primary school grading system in England has three grades.
About 60% of students get the middle grade.
So that means a student working at the Y4 standard, and one working at the Y8 standard are both told they are at the expected standard for Year 6.
substack.nomoremarking.com/p/why-grades...
At the end of last term, we released our latest Year 6 writing results. Approx 30k Year 6 students took part and you can view some short samples of their writing here.
The same students will shortly be redrafting their writing based on feedback.
blog.nomoremarking.com/assessing-pr...
Yes, it is very similar at the top end too. Only 13% of students in the govt's national writing assessment get the top grade. So it is possible for a student to be doing better than 85% of students nationally and still only get the expected standard.
Huh
Here's a great blog from London South Research School with their experiences of using Comparative Judgement + AI. With quotes from teachers using it to mark writing at primary, KS3 and A-level.
researchschool.org.uk/londonsouth/...
Our next Comparative Judgement + AI webinar is coming up soon. You can register here.
www.nomoremarking.com/events
Grades are just lines drawn on a continuous distribution & can end up distorting things.
In this example, Paul is graded as being at the expected standard despite being approx 2 yrs below average & having more in common with students in the lower grade.
substack.nomoremarking.com/p/why-grades...
The power and simplicity of comparative judgement has given us The Nation's Favourite Easter Egg!
Despite some stiff competition, the winner is....
The Maltesers Bunnies Easter Egg!
@nomoremarking.bsky.social @daisychristo.bsky.social
Well worth your time reading this vet lucid article on the problems created by grades
People are often surprised by this, but I really really don't like grades.
I think they encourage a (flawed) skills-based way of thinking about education.
More here, including alternatives.
substack.nomoremarking.com/p/why-grades...
This is one of the excellent points made by @daisychristo.bsky.social in the Craig Barton podcast. It’s really worth a listen podcast.mrbartonmaths.com/215-ai-in-ed...
Education technology is never neutral by @daisychristo.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/daisychr...
The most read article of the week was ‘The democratisation of cheating’ by @daisychristo.bsky.social 📚
Will you be twirling or twixing tomorrow?
Help us find The Nation's Favourite Easter Egg - open your laptop, follow the link to sign up:
au.nomoremarking.com/judging/sign...
Then judge by clicking the Left/Right button to choose your favourite...
@nomoremarking.bsky.social @daisychristo.bsky.social
When you use a new technology, you’re constrained by decisions made in its design.
Churchill understood this! (He was referring to the design of Parliament).
If you’d like to infleunce the design of our new assessment systems - get in touch!
substack.nomoremarking.com/p/education-...
We want to believe that technology is a neutral container for ideas. It isn’t. It changes the way we think and engage with content.
open.substack.com/pub/daisychr...
“Technology can be used well or badly.”
“Kids can use a tablet to study or to play games: the issue isn’t the tablet, it’s what they are doing on it.”
You hear this argument a lot but I think it's totally wrong. Technology changes the way we behave & think.
substack.nomoremarking.com/p/education-...