The pilot, developed by the CIEA, took place over nine months (September 2007 - June 2008) in 20 schools across England and resulted in 34 assessment specialists being granted chartered status. The Institute's aim is to have 3,000 qualified CEAs in schools in England in the next three years, with CEAs acting as 'change agents', supporting teachers to improve their assessment practices. Successful applicants were selected from a two day event, where they had to apply their expertise through the CIEA's professional framework. They were then sent into selected schools, where they carried out an audit of assessment practices, worked with teachers to develop a plan of action to improve assessment and provided support to staff as necessary.

Graham Herbert, Deputy Head of the CIEA, says: "A consistent finding in Ofsted's annual reports is that assessment remains the weakest aspect of teaching, which is hardly surprising given teachers receive just five hours of assessment training as part of a nine-month PGCE course. The results of the CEA pilot are timely, as the government increased stress on more effective teacher assessments. The feedback from participating schools shows that we are challenging negative perceptions of assessment and empowering teachers to deliver better assessment as an integral part of the teaching process. For the learner, this means greater confidence in assessment and fair marks."

How the CEA pilot works in schools

Greenacre School, a Secondary Modern for boys 11 - 18 in Chatham, Kent, took part in the CEA pilot between Oct 2007- April 2008. The aim of the school's involvement was to help Greenacre's science teachers for years 7 - 11 improve assessment procedures. Pat Mayo, Assistant Headteacher, found the experience beneficial to teachers and students: "At first, the teachers were unclear about how their relationship with the Chartered Educational Assessor would work. However, very soon a productive partnership was formed and the benefits of the process became apparent. The key benefit was the boost in confidence the initiative gave teachers in their assessment practices, shedding new light on assessment procedures and providing clarity to their future thinking around assessment."

Pat concluded: "All in all, the experience allowed teachers to take ownership of assessment in a very short space of time and provided a strong framework to ensure good assessment in the long term. As a result of the pilot, the science team is now working more closely together, sharing good assessment practice. There have been some key benefits passed on to the learners as teachers now have in place a clear, robust assessment procedure so learners are fully aware of their progress and how to improve."

Brian Crane, the Chartered Educational Assessor, who worked with Greenacre School's science team, said: "The CEA training I received was superb; both rigorous and stimulating. I felt fully prepared to go into the school and work with the science department and the school's leadership team to improve assessment practice and support the professional development of teachers. The pilot was very effective from the outset. After four visits in all to the school, the results are nothing short of amazing, opening up dialogue between the school's management and science department and turning assessment into a smoother, more efficient process."

Brian, who has nearly thirty years experience in assessment, concluded: "I think all parties gained enormously from the pilot scheme and I look forward to hearing about the continued success of the school."

John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "We welcome working with the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors on this innovative move towards the day that every school will have access to Chartered Educational Assessors - a concept first proposed by the Association of School and College Leaders six years ago. The research published today illustrates the need and the benefits that accrue from such action - and I look forward to the day when every teacher and learner can reap the benefits. Assessment has been an underused diagnostic tool which, when properly applied, raises the learning potential and performance of each individual to progress in leaps and bounds. This initiative will help bring that day forward."