Recent research reports

Anthony L. Daly, Anne Pinot de Moira

Curriculum Journal, Vol. 21, Iss. 2 2010.

Summary

The Extended Project Qualification engages students across the attainment spectrum and could help widen participation in post-16 education, according to research by AQA's Centre for Education Research and Policy.

A study investigating student experiences and achievement in the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) pilot project revealed that while success in the EPQ was heavily influenced by students' prior academic achievement, engagement with the EPQ was not influenced by previous exam performance.

The researchers analysed 200 survey responses from students who completed the EPQ during its pilot phase (a total of 973 students completed the EPQ and were awarded a grade). The results of the study revealed that prior achievement (in this case, a student's average GCSE results) was the key factor in determining success on the EPQ; those who had performed better in their GCSEs performed better on the EPQ.

However, this did not hold true for student engagement with the qualification. The surveys revealed that even those who did not perform as highly on their GCSEs reported really engaging with the project, noting for example that they enjoyed it or learnt things that [they] wouldn't have learnt otherwise. The research also suggested that males engaged with the EPQ more than females, though there was no difference in the marks between the two groups.

The study also showed that success on the EPQ was linked with students being intrinsically motivated to study their chosen topic and deriving satisfaction or enjoyment from the activity, rather than simply taking the EPQ as a means to an end i.e. gaining a qualification.

Suzanne Chamberlain, Rachel Taylor

British Journal of Education Technology, Vol.42, Iss. 4 2011.

Summary

Training examiners to mark exam papers online is just as effective as training them in face-to-face meetings, according to research by AQA's Centre for Education Research and Policy.

Answer papers from public exams are marked by thousands of examiners across the nation, with all undergoing training to ensure that they mark a specific paper accurately and consistently using the mark scheme provided.

Traditionally, this standardisation training has occurred in face-to-face meetings, which often cause logistical and administrative difficulties. Online standardisation has been suggested as a solution to these problems, and this study investigated whether training examiners online affected the consistency and accuracy of their marking compared to face-to-face training.

The study involved 89 examiners, 40 of whom received standardisation training in face-to-face meetings while the remainder had online training. Both groups marked 30 GCSE History papers without any training, and another 30 after training, so that the impact of both modes of training could be compared.

The study found that training had a positive effect on examiners' quality of marking regardless of how it was delivered. The improvement in accuracy and consistency was comparable across the two groups, suggesting that online standardisation training is just as good at producing reliable examiners as the traditional face-to-face approach.

Anthony L. Daly, Suzanne Chamberlain, V. Spalding

Educational Research, Vol. 53, Iss. 3, 2011.

Summary

A racing heart during an exam could be linked to getting better grades, according to a pilot study by researchers at AQA's Centre for Education Research and Policy.

Hundreds of studies have looked at anxiety and its effects on exam performance, but in this latest investigation the researchers decided to look at how heart rate comes into the equation. With the help of 39 student volunteers from a sixth form college, the team used heart monitors to measure the change in heart rate as the students took a 10-minute mock A-level French speaking exam. The figures were then compared with each student's exam result, and how anxious they said they felt during exams in general.

The results show that while students who were generally more anxious about exams tended not to perform as well academically (judging by past GCSE performance), there wasn't a connection between their test anxiety and performance in this particular mock exam.

However, while there was also no link between test anxiety and change in heart rate, the study did reveal a significant link between a change in heart rate and the test result – those students whose heart rate jumped more during the exam performed better.

With such a small study sample it would be inappropriate to claim that the results could be considered representative of exam candidates in general, however this study acts a first look at the relationship between test anxiety, heart rate and academic performance. If the effect is found to be widely applicable it could represent an additional consideration in ensuring the validity of exams and assessments.

A larger study is due take place in late 2011.

Suzanne Chamberlain, Anthony Leslie Daly, Victoria Spalding

Pastoral Care in Education, Vol. 29, Iss. 3, 2011.

Summary

Almost all students will feel anxious about exams at some point, but research from AQA's Centre for Education Research and Policy suggests that students quite clearly differentiate between good anxiety and bad anxiety around exams.

Researchers talked to 19 A-level students in a series of small focus groups to gauge their experiences and attitudes towards exam-related stress. Two distinct periods of anxiety were identified – pre-exam anxiety (relating to revision, mock exams, workload and so on) and exam day anxiety (concerning the time available to complete the exam, timetabling, school exam policy and so on).

Pre-exam anxiety was the bad anxiety – causing lack of sleep, tiredness and inescapable guilt whenever a student was not revising. Contributing to the stress were teachers' repeated reminders of the negative consequences of failure – presumably intended as motivation but seen by the students as a source of frustration and anxiety.

Anxiety on the day of the exam, on the other hand, was seen as beneficial by almost all participants – delivering the adrenalin rush they felt helped them to perform. However, the liveliest discussions focused around a major source of anxiety on exam days – the time allowed to complete the exam. Almost every student involved felt that the amount of time allocated to complete an exam was insufficient and unrealistic.

Despite the exam-related stress described by the students, most were not interested in getting extra support from teachers, parents or exam boards to help reduce or deal with the anxiety. This could be because the students find it hard to imagine what kind of form this support might take, but also may be because the students involved in this small study were high achievers at a top sixth form college, and were less anxious due to a good exam track record.

The research suggests that it might be helpful for exam boards to explain the reasons behind imposing time restrictions on exams, and that offering teachers training in how to communicate messages about the consequences of failing exams without discouraging or scaring students may be beneficial.

Further research is now underway with a broader cross section of students to gauge opinion on a variety of possible interventions intended to reduce exam-related anxiety.