Anonymous marking, as a means to mitigate bias in grading, involves evaluating student work with their identities withheld. Anonymous marking is explored in this self-study to mitigate implicit bias, which negated a practitioner-researcher's educational values. The mixed methods action research findings show withholding student identities during…

The numbers of UK students choosing to study abroad for a period has increased steadily over the years, with many students citing academic, professional, linguistic and cultural reasons as their key motivations. However, while there is an abundance of literature on the advantage of study abroad (SA) for linguistic learning, there is less known…

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a rapid seismic shift to online delivery in otherwise face-to-face higher education settings worldwide. This quantitative research study sought to investigate the effect of different delivery styles and assessment types on student outcomes. Specifically, grades achieved by first year undergraduate Biological Science…

This report investigates the progression of students from GCSE to A level in the same (or related) subject. That is, for a range of subjects, the proportion of GCSE students who continue to study the subject at A level is calculated. To understand possible sources of variation progression rates are broken down by GCSE grade and student gender.…

The move from elite to mass systems of higher education has been accompanied by concerns relating to the quality of provision and standards, particularly in relation to the increasing proportion of higher grades awarded to students. Bayesian multilevel models were used to investigate the temporal trend of grade attainment in 101 higher education…

The transition from Key Stage 4 (KS4) to post-16 education marks a shift from a broad programme of study (around 8-10 subjects) to a narrower programme (usually 1-4 subjects). Within the constraints of course availability and entry criteria, students must make important choices. Students' post-16 pathways matter because different subjects as well…

Background: Educational outcomes in the United Kingdom vary as a function of students' family background, with those of lower socioeconomic status (SES) and certain ethnic minority groups among the worst affected. Aims: This pre-registered study investigates: (i) whether knowledge about students' socioeconomic and ethnic background influences…

Assessment practice in higher education has undergone significant changes in recent years, with COVID-19 forcing universities to adopt a digital-first approach during the temporary disruption and prompting wider reflection on the merits of traditional closed-book examinations as opposed to more modern formats. End-of-course assessments are,…

We examine the relationship between secondary school attainment and early-career graduate salaries in the UK. Based on literature on grade inflation, we hypothesise that there is uncertainty regarding the quality of the signal communicated by degree classifications, and that secondary school grades can be used as a tool to determine the veracity…

Students in the UK apply to university with teacher-predicted examination grades, rather than actual results. These predictions have been shown to be inaccurate, and to favour certain groups, leading to concerns about teacher bias. We ask whether it is possible to improve on the accuracy of teachers' predictions by predicting pupil achievement…

Various forms of proofreading of student writing take place in university contexts. Sometimes writers pay freelance proofreaders to edit their texts before submission for assessment; sometimes more informal arrangements take place, where friends, family, or coursemates proofread. Such arrangements raise ethical questions for universities…

Conceptualising feedback as dialogue places even greater importance on successful interpretation of the message as a crucial step leading to the uptake of feedback. This interpretation is not always straightforward as it takes place through a cultural and linguistic lens that international students bring to feedback conversations. This research…

There are theoretical arguments and empirical studies to support the benefits of early participation in an online course. However, little research has been conducted to investigate the relationship between students' early start in online learning and their course performance, which limits its application to online education research and practice.…

This article is the first to examine the use of screen-capture video feedback on student assignments on a social science degree at a British university. It is based on qualitative, focus group, research with students who received one or more video recordings on their academic work over the period 2019-2021. The article first places video feedback…

To obtain their degree, final year students of psychology in the UK normally complete a set of examination papers and a dissertation, and the marks obtained for these pieces of work are usually combined with marks obtained for coursework completed in the second year. With joint-honours degrees the marks obtained for psychology are combined with…