exam-factories

Exam factories? The impact of accountability measures on children and young peopleThe research teamProfessor Merryn Hutchings: Lead researcher and author of this reportMerryn is an Emeritus Professor in the Institute for Policy Studies in Education, LondonMetropolitan University. She started her career teaching in London primary schools. Shethen worked in teacher training, and from 2000, was Deputy Director and then Directorof the Institute for Policy Studies in Education at London Metropolitan University. Herresearch has focused on education policy related to schools and teachers. She wasinvolved in research about teacher supply in London at the time of the 2001 teachershortage; led an evaluation of Teach First for the TDA, and research projectscommissioned by the DCSF about the impact of policies designed to raise school standards, includingthe Excellent Teacher scheme, workforce remodelling and the City Challenge programme. Most recentlyshe has worked with the Sutton Trust on an analysis of the impact of academy chains on disadvantagedpupils.Dr Naveed Kazmi: Research assistantNaveed holds a PhD in education from London Metropolitan University. He started hiscareer as a secondary school teacher in Pakistan and worked in various leadership roles.He has taught extensively on the BA and MA in education at London MetropolitanUniversity and on the MA in Education: Emotional Literacy for Children at the Institutefor Arts in Therapy and Education in Islington.AcknowledgementsI would like to thank the NUT for commissioning this research, and am extremely grateful to Celia Dignanof the NUT for managing the project effectively and for her ongoing support, encouragement andcomment. I would also like to thank Daniel Stone, Rebecca Harvey and Ken Jones of the NUT for theirsupport with different aspects of the work.I am particularly grateful to Dr Naveed Kazmi for his assistance in the early stages of this research, andparticularly for conducting three of the case study visits.This research could not have been undertaken without the help of heads, staff and pupils in the casestudy schools. They gave their time to talk with us and made us feel welcome in their schools; we arevery grateful for their support. We are also grateful to all those who took part in pilot interviews, as wellas the thousands of teachers who took the time to complete the survey.This research was commissioned by the National Union of Teachers (NUT). However, the analysispresented here is the author’s and does not necessarily reflect the views of the NUT.­2