Research and analysis

Reliability of assessment: compendium

Research papers published as Ofqual's 'Reliability Compendium' looking at the reliability of education assessment.

From:
Ofqual
Published
16 May 2013

Applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales

Documents

Introduction to the concept of reliability

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Ofqual's reliability programme: overview

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Partial Estimate of Reliability: Parallel Form Reliability in the KS2 Science Tests: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/09/4553

PDF, 438 KB, 40 pages

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Classification accuracy in results from KS2 National Curriculum Tests: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/11/4830

PDF, 211 KB, 22 pages

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Classification accuracy and consistency in GCSE and A Level examinations offered by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) November 2008 to June 2009: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/11/4823

PDF, 530 KB, 44 pages

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Component reliability in GCSE and GCE: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/11/4780

PDF, 1.6 MB, 86 pages

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Estimates of reliability of qualifications: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/11/4826

PDF, 1.77 MB, 106 pages

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Ref: Ofqual/11/4824

PDF, 2.03 MB, 52 pages

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A focus on teacher assessment reliability in GCSE and GCE: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/11/4807

PDF, 421 KB, 58 pages

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Parallel universes and parallel measures: estimating the reliability of test results: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/10/4709

PDF, 757 KB, 67 pages

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Conceptualising and interpreting reliability: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/10/4706

PDF, 632 KB, 67 pages

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Estimating the reliability of composite scores: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/10/4703

PDF, 193 KB, 39 pages

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International survey of results reporting: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/10/4705

PDF, 2.12 MB, 56 pages

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Reporting of measurement uncertainty and reliability for US educational and licensure tests: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/10/4759

PDF, 419 KB, 19 pages

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Summary of the technical seminar report

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Ref: Ofqual/09/4638

PDF, 58.1 KB, 13 pages

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No news is good news? Talking to the public about the reliability of assessment: Summary

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PDF, 19.6 KB, 5 pages

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Public perceptions of reliability in examinations: Summary

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PDF, 134 KB, 46 pages

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Public perceptions of reliability: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/10/4708

PDF, 745 KB, 36 pages

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A Quantitative Investigation into Public Perceptions of Reliability in Examination Results in England: Summary

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Ref: Ofqual/10/4769

PDF, 466 KB, 68 pages

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Summary of the final report of the Technical Advisory Group

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Ref: Ofqual/11/4825

PDF, 1.2 MB, 80 pages

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Summary of the policy advisory group's final report

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Ref: Ofqual/11/4829

PDF, 161 KB, 20 pages

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Summary of the final report

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Ref: Ofqual/11/4828

PDF, 1.02 MB, 61 pages

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Appendix 1: Ofqual鈥檚 reliability programme remit

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Appendix 2: Reliability Programme Technical Advisory Group and Policy Advisory Group members

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Appendix 3: compendium authors

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Appendix 4: contributing authors

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Appendix 5: seminar participants

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Appendix 6: glossary of terms

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Details

Public exams have to be fair. It is Ofqual鈥檚 job to make sure that candidates get the results they deserve, and that their qualifications are valued and understood in society. Ensuring examination reliability is a key part of this - making sure that candidates obtain a fair result, irrespective of:

  • who marks their paper
  • what types of questions are used (multiple choice or essay questions)
  • which topics are set or chosen to be answered
  • when the examination is taken

This consistency of exam results is referred to as reliability: the repeatability of results from one assessment to the next, whether they are assessments taken on different days, or from one year to the next.

In everyday use, 鈥榬eliable鈥� means 鈥榯hat which can be relied on鈥�, but the technical definition in educational assessment is narrower. In assessment, the definition is 鈥榯he extent to which a candidate would get the same test result if the testing procedure was repeated鈥�. The technical definition of reliability is a sliding scale, not black or white, and encourages us to consider the degree of differences in candidates鈥� results from one instance to the next.

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Published 16 May 2013

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