Articles about Assessment

As part of our series of blogs summarising Research Notes articles relevant to teachers preparing learners for Cambridge exams, here we look at the recent revisions to Key and Preliminary Writing.

'Health checks' are periodically conducted on our exams to make sure they remain relevant to both learner needs and new approaches to assessment and learning. Debbie Howden and Angela Wright tell us about the market research employed to gather feedback on A2 Key, A2 Key for Schools, B1 Preliminary, and B1 Preliminary for Schools.

In Updating the A2 Key and B1 Preliminary vocabulary lists, Lanes, Love, Kalman, Brenchley and Pickles describe the process of updating the wordlist for A2 Key and B1 Preliminary exams and their schools variants.

In Revising the A2 Key and B1 Preliminary Speaking exam, Kathryn Davies and Nick Glasson from our Assessment department report on how a periodic ‘health check’ prompted changes to A2 Key and B1 Preliminary.

In Revising the A2 Key and B1 Preliminary Reading exam, Marianne Pickles, Tony Clark and Mark Elliott from our Assessment, Research and Thought Leadership, and Validation and Data Services departments, report on how one of our regular exam 'health checks' led to the revision of two of our exams.

Good communication skills are essential to patient safety, wellbeing and the overall efficiency of busy healthcare organisations. At Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment this is something we’re very interested in as we jointly own the Occupational English Test (OET), a widely used international English language test for healthcare professionals. Earlier this year we commissioned a piece of research that looked into the challenges of communicating clearly to patients, with the leading healthcare accreditation body Joint Commission International (JCI).

There is a big difference between the Cambridge English Qualifications – which focus on a particular level of language ability – and multi-level tests. Dr Evelina Galaczi explains why the Cambridge English approach to level-based testing supports more effective language learning.

Is it really a good idea to ask children to take international English tests? Does it encourage them to learn English, or is it just unnecessary stress? Dr Amy Devine and Dr Maggie Dunlop review the extensive evidence that shows that the Cambridge English Qualifications specifically designed for children have a positive effect on their learning and motivation.

Why do the Cambridge English Qualifications test all four skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing – rather than allowing candidates to focus on one or two skills? Dr Evelina Galaczi explains why four-skills testing is important for language learners, teachers and employers.