From May 2001 to June 2002
Project Leader(s): Jill Clark and Ian Hall
Contact: Jill Clark- Jill.Clark@ncl.ac.uk
Sponsors: Cambridge Education Associates (CEA)
Introduction
Staff in the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching supported the research which was undertaken by Cambridge Education Associates (CEA) in evaluating its procedures for the implementation of Threshold Evaluation in Round 1. The evaluation was managed by a Co-ordinating Group of CEA staff working in administration and in the field, and all phases of the evaluation were managed solely by this group.
Research Aims and Objectives
The questionnaire phase was part of the wider evaluation of the implementation of the Threshold Assessment arrangements in schools. In order to improve the quality of their work, Cambridge Educational Associates wished to explore perceptions, experiences and views of Threshold Assessors who had been involved in the procedures during the previous year.
Research design and methodology
A questionnaire was developed, designed, piloted and distributed to approximately 3,000 Threshold Assessors nationwide. This research was essentially desk-based, and focused on support for the questionnaire design, followed by the collation and analysis of anonymous data from questionnaires, provided by the CEA.
Due to the relatively fast turnaround period required, an e-mail survey was considered to be the most practical way to administer the survey. A questionnaire was drafted and then circulated for amendments to representatives of the CEA. It was then piloted with other representatives of the CEA. The questionnaire was designed to give Threshold Assessors the opportunity to provide both quantitative and qualitative information regarding their experiences and attitudes to various aspects of their work.
Information collected through the questionnaires was both quantitative and qualitative by design. Quantitative data analysis was undertaken using Excel software. Qualitative responses were entered as raw data, for later analysis by the CEA evaluation team.
In total, 923 respondents returned completed questionnaires. These questionnaires were added to an SPSS database for analysis. Based on a count of e-mail addresses, the number of questionnaires sent out was 1,897, this constitutes a return rate of 49%. Approximately another 80 to 100 were received after the cut off point. Taken all together over 1000 questionnaires were returned. Completed questionnaires were coded and the complete database was then passed directly onto the CEA.
Contact: Jill Clark
Jill.Clark@ncl.ac.uk
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Jill Clark
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