Sarah is one of the UK’s leading experts in the design, development and evaluation of assessment.  She has led teams working on assessment-related projects for a number of leading organisations including Cambridge Assessment and the National Foundation for Educational Research.  She is currently Director of Assessment at AlphaPlus Consultancy.  In this role Sarah leads a number of projects including assessment development, assessment standardising and grading, validation studies and evaluations.  The projects cover assessments for school-aged students, as well as vocational and professional students.  

 

Sarah has led teams:

• developing and delivering qualifications for students of school-leaving age (GCSE and A Level)

• developing national tests for younger students, including end of primary assessments

• administering the international surveys for different jurisdictions of the UK (PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS, ICCS and PIAAC)

• validating a new assessment scheme for qualifying solicitors

• quality assuring assessments for senior dentists.

 

Sarah is currently leading a four-year project to develop national assessments in reading and numeracy for learners aged 7 to 14 in Wales.  These assessments will initially be delivered on paper and are transitioning to computer adaptive testing over the course of the project.  The first computer adaptive assessments, in procedural numeracy, have been delivered live in schools since December 2019.

 

Sarah is also leading a multi-year project to develop content for computer-based tests and scenario-based practical assessments for qualified social workers. 

 

More broadly, Sarah is expert in a wide range of research techniques including evaluations, literature reviews, comparative studies and randomised control trials.  She has worked extensively with assessment organisations and Ministries of Education in the UK and internationally.