Peter Canning
This article argues that the recent move by Ofqual to require assessment of investigative skills through terminal examinations, as opposed to coursework or controlled assessment, represents an opportunity to re-examine the role of investigative learning in science.
Pearson's work with teachers and wider stakeholders in the science community often points to a common desire to ensure students experience science in as real a way as possible. This has often become at odds with the needs of a standardised assessment system for high-stakes assessment such as GCSEs in England. The question we pose is what does the education system as a whole need to do to ensure teachers can use the freedom provided by the proposed new assessment regime to improve the science learning experience?