Obsessed with Assessment
Join educational assessment detectives Sam Denno and Emma McHale as they take a deep dive into the intricacies of classroom assessment. Each episode, they sift through reports, strategies, blogs, videos, guidance and ideas from experts, then condense their findings into 15 minutes of concentrated CPD.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 16 minutes
- Episodes
- 35
- Years Active
- 2024 - 2025
The Final Analysis
After 10 months and 35 episodes, Obsessed with Assessment is drawing to a close. Sam Denno is moving to a new role at Twinkl Educational Publishing and his focus will no longer be purely on assessmen…
Assessment in the News: solving the maths resit problem (with special guests Sarah Gotting and Amy Jones from OCR)
Sam Denno, assessment lead at Twinkl Educational Publishing, is joined by OCR representatives, Sarah Gotting and Amy Jones, in discussing the negative spiral created by post-16 GCSE Maths resits. The…
We should ALL become assessment literate (with special guest James Beadle)
James Beadle becomes only the second podcast guest to make a repeat visit, as he brings his wisdom to bear on the issue of assessment literacy. He argues that all stakeholders in the assessment proce…
Why we should treat formative and summative differently (with special guest James Beadle)
"All assessment should be formative, even when it's summative" - so went the wisdom of Obsessed with Assessment host, Sam Denno. His guest in this episode, James Beadle, is here to unpick all of that…
Are your assessments valid?
Sam and Emma go to work on assessment validity, poring over the research of Prof Keith Topping to consider everything teachers need to bear in mind when setting both formative and summative tests. If…
How comparative judgement is a game-changer (with special guest Daisy Christodoulou)
Sam Denno sits down with Daisy Christodoulou, Director of Education at No More Marking and author of Seven Myths About Education, to get to grips with another assessment concept. Comparative judgemen…
Getting the most out of self assessment
Sam Denno and Emma Rose-McHale are back. This time they are exploring self assessment and gauging its effectiveness, backed up by their reading of research by various educational experts. Is self ass…
Assessment in the News: addressing the STEM gender gap
Sam Denno is joined by three STEM specialists in order to discuss the alarming TIMSS pupil characteristics report published in March 2025. TIMSS data reveals that the difference between boy and girl …
Getting the most out of peer assessment
The Obsessed with Assessment duo dig into the research behind peer assessment, determining its value as a teaching and learning tool. They explore when and when not to use peer assessment. and propos…
Dealing with our unconscious biases (with special guest Dr Lewis Doyle)
In this episode we talk to Dr Lewis Doyle about unconscious biases, particularly when it comes to marking and assessment. In a groundbreaking study in 2022, Lewis and his team asked 400 teachers to m…
Becoming a better teacher (with special guest Dr Mick Walker)
Our conversation with Dr Mick Walker takes a turn towards CPD as we consider ways in which teachers should be judged, what we need to do to make a lesson observation a positive experience and how to …
Ensuring we're asking pupils the right questions (with special guest Dr Mick Walker)
Assessment specialist Dr Mick Walker of the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors joins us again to talk about creating effective assessments. Via an insightful anecdote, Mick brings to light …
Assessment in the News: Curriculum & Assessment Review - views of a former curriculum designer (with Dr Mick Walker)
As we await a spring-time report on the Curriculum and Assessment Review and the progress that Becky Francis and her panel are making, Sam Denno sits down with Dr Mick Walker of the Chartered Institu…
Assessment in the News: review of Ofsted's report cards press release
Sam and Emma dig into Ofsted's 3rd February press release, in which they launched brand new information about their incoming framework proposals and, in particular, their much talked about school rep…
Rebuilding curriculum and assessment - what teachers need to know (with special guest Dr Mick Walker, President of the CIEA)
Sam Denno of Obsessed with Assessment caught up with Dr Mick Walker to conduct a fascinating conversation on numerous aspects of educational assessment. In the first of a collection of episodes, we e…
The National Reference Test - the mandatory Y11 test that nobody knows about!
The National Reference Test (NRT) is a mandatory annual test administered by Ofqual and the NFER, that is delivered to a random sample of Y11 pupils. The format of the NRT is a fascinating departure …
Who do assessments serve?
Follow our fascinating discussion as we dissect Daisy Christodoulou's blog on the purposes of assessments. Are we trying to do too much when we attempt to achieve formative, summative, accountability…
Relative grading... absolute grading... scaled scoring... what works the best?
Sam and Emma get to work distinguishing their relative grading from their absolute grading and ponder where scaled scoring fits within all of that, in this concept-almanac of an Obsessed with Assessm…
Nordic education review: is it really that good?
In their third and final episode on Denmark, Finland and Norway, Sam and Emma consider the advantages and disadvantages of these Nordic education systems, as compared with English education. Could we…
How do they get assessment right in Finland?
In the second of three podcasts in which Sam and Emma explore assessment in a collection of Nordic countries, they turn their attention to Finland, considering its education system, before comparing …