About
Welcome to AQi.
We at AQA believe that educational assessment must meet the demands of economic and social change, driven in part by rapidly changing technologies, while maintaining reliability and public trust.
Navigating this complex environment requires high-quality analysis of the best evidence, and being open to testing diverse ideas and perspectives.
As an education charity, we have created AQi to bring together research and insight, argument and ideas, on assessment and qualifications - because we are acutely aware that high quality curriculum delivery is intimately bound up with excellent assessment.
AQi’s aim is to advance understanding of assessment, and to inform discussion and debate. We want to link research and its application to the real world, in the interests of students and teachers alike.
Colin Hughes
CEO, AQA
What is the AQi?
AQi is an online hub for insight, data and new thinking on the future of assessment and qualifications.
We publish blogs, discussion papers and briefings, explore data and convene events.
AQi’s mission is to inform, stimulate and provide a neutral platform for debate, bringing together different points of view on policy and practice.
AQi is hosted and curated by AQA, an independent educational charity with a hundred-year history in assessment and qualifications.
Getting in touch
We would love to hear from you particularly if you have interesting experiences, research or insights that you would like to share with us or the wider AQi community. Just email us at info@aqi.org.uk, or follow us on Twitter.
We look forward to hearing from you.
The Birth of GCSEs: Four decades on, what were the reasons for GCSEs?
With the exam season nearing its end, Andrew Taylor, AQA’s Head of Mathematics, outlines the reasons why GCSEs were created.
Making the grades – How does an exam turn into a qualification?
AQi considers how exam boards make sure that grades reflect the hard work and effort put in by students.
2019: Proportion of students achieving a Level 2 qualification in English and Maths by 19
The disadvantage gap is consistent with 2017 and 2018 findings.
2018: Proportion of students achieving a Level 2 qualification in English and Maths by 19
In only one LEA are disadvantaged students more likely to meet the benchmark than their more affluent peers.
2017: Proportion of students achieving a Level 2 qualification in English and Maths by 19
On average, advantaged pupils were 55% more likely to pass both qualifications.
What was education like when the Queen ascended to the throne in 1952?
For Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, AQA looks back on what education and exams were like in 1952.
OECD 2017-2019: Qualifications and Employment
How does highest qualification level affect patterns in part-time, full-time and unemployment?
Journey of a script – What happens after students put their pens down?
What happens after an exam is finished? AQi explains how they are turned into grades, in a matter of weeks.
Making up an exam: How does a question paper get made?
With this year’s exam season kicking off, AQi explores the processes that help create the final exam papers that end up on students’ desks.
Computer science and on-screen assessment: Lessons for policymakers
Evaluating the barriers and benefits to on-screen assessment among AQA A-level Computer Science teachers.