Matthew Evans
@head-teach.bsky.social
Educationalist, author of Leaders With Substance, co-author of The Next Big Thing in School Improvement, blogger, everything mountains. https://educontrarianblog.com/ https://open.substack.com/pub/100assessment
Reposted by Matthew Evans
I declare this book finished.
It's been intense. So much editing. This is the most important work I've written.
As far as I'm aware, the first book for general teachers that's deeply rooted in *enactive* cognitive science.
Teaching Meaning: What Works When Telling Isn't Enough
Out soon!
It's been intense. So much editing. This is the most important work I've written.
As far as I'm aware, the first book for general teachers that's deeply rooted in *enactive* cognitive science.
Teaching Meaning: What Works When Telling Isn't Enough
Out soon!
February 8, 2026 at 8:08 AM
I declare this book finished.
It's been intense. So much editing. This is the most important work I've written.
As far as I'm aware, the first book for general teachers that's deeply rooted in *enactive* cognitive science.
Teaching Meaning: What Works When Telling Isn't Enough
Out soon!
It's been intense. So much editing. This is the most important work I've written.
As far as I'm aware, the first book for general teachers that's deeply rooted in *enactive* cognitive science.
Teaching Meaning: What Works When Telling Isn't Enough
Out soon!
What’s the best one to start with?
February 7, 2026 at 6:35 PM
What’s the best one to start with?
Reposted by Matthew Evans
February 2, 2026 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by Matthew Evans
New for me for Insight Inform: The Data Wave Returns?
The data wave has been receding. Are there signs that it may be about to return?
www.insightinform.co.uk/2026/01/30/t...
Please read, comment and repost!
The data wave has been receding. Are there signs that it may be about to return?
www.insightinform.co.uk/2026/01/30/t...
Please read, comment and repost!
The Data Wave returns? - Insight Inform
Between the 2000s and the early 2020s a data wave washed over education, peaking in the mid-2010s. The data wave has been receding. Are there signs that it may be about to return?
www.insightinform.co.uk
January 30, 2026 at 4:05 PM
New for me for Insight Inform: The Data Wave Returns?
The data wave has been receding. Are there signs that it may be about to return?
www.insightinform.co.uk/2026/01/30/t...
Please read, comment and repost!
The data wave has been receding. Are there signs that it may be about to return?
www.insightinform.co.uk/2026/01/30/t...
Please read, comment and repost!
Reposted by Matthew Evans
I read this from @head-teach.bsky.social and @profbeckyallen.bsky.social as a suggestion to ditch whole school K3 Assessment as inherently unreliable. Their individual substacks are well worth reading but a bit like John and Paul, they may be even better as a duo! substack.com/inbox/post/1...
Starting again with KS3 assessment
Q1. What is motivating me to change?
substack.com
January 31, 2026 at 7:55 AM
I read this from @head-teach.bsky.social and @profbeckyallen.bsky.social as a suggestion to ditch whole school K3 Assessment as inherently unreliable. Their individual substacks are well worth reading but a bit like John and Paul, they may be even better as a duo! substack.com/inbox/post/1...
Ha! @profbeckyallen.bsky.social is definitely Lennon.
January 31, 2026 at 11:29 AM
Ha! @profbeckyallen.bsky.social is definitely Lennon.
Reposted by Matthew Evans
Reposted by Matthew Evans
New Blog Post 📝
I hate QLA.
Originally due to the time it sucked out of my PPA I now know that QLA documents do not provide the information we think they do.
I go over the justification for why I ditched QLA and the reasons why you should get rid of it too.
open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...
I hate QLA.
Originally due to the time it sucked out of my PPA I now know that QLA documents do not provide the information we think they do.
I go over the justification for why I ditched QLA and the reasons why you should get rid of it too.
open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...
Death to the Spreadsheet: Why I Finally Ditched QLA
Question Level Analysis (QLA) is a staple in many schools. It is designed to turn exam results into a roadmap for student progress. But does it actually lead us where we need to go?
open.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:27 PM
New Blog Post 📝
I hate QLA.
Originally due to the time it sucked out of my PPA I now know that QLA documents do not provide the information we think they do.
I go over the justification for why I ditched QLA and the reasons why you should get rid of it too.
open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...
I hate QLA.
Originally due to the time it sucked out of my PPA I now know that QLA documents do not provide the information we think they do.
I go over the justification for why I ditched QLA and the reasons why you should get rid of it too.
open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...
Reposted by Matthew Evans
Are you going back to the drawing board with KS3 assessment? Why?
NEW POST from 100% Assessment. @profbeckyallen.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/100asses...
NEW POST from 100% Assessment. @profbeckyallen.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/100asses...
Starting again with KS3 assessment
Q1. What is motivating me to change?
open.substack.com
January 24, 2026 at 1:13 PM
Are you going back to the drawing board with KS3 assessment? Why?
NEW POST from 100% Assessment. @profbeckyallen.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/100asses...
NEW POST from 100% Assessment. @profbeckyallen.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/100asses...
Reposted by Matthew Evans
Professional scepticism is the disciplined habit of slowing down unscrupulous optimism before it does damage.
Before rolling out the next shiny policy, ask:
- What problem are we solving?
- What would show this is wrong?
- What will we stop doing if it fails?
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Before rolling out the next shiny policy, ask:
- What problem are we solving?
- What would show this is wrong?
- What will we stop doing if it fails?
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Professional scepticism
Until education becomes the kind of profession that reveres evidence, we should not be surprised to find its experts dispensing unproven methods, endlessly flitting from one fad to another.
open.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:45 AM
Professional scepticism is the disciplined habit of slowing down unscrupulous optimism before it does damage.
Before rolling out the next shiny policy, ask:
- What problem are we solving?
- What would show this is wrong?
- What will we stop doing if it fails?
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Before rolling out the next shiny policy, ask:
- What problem are we solving?
- What would show this is wrong?
- What will we stop doing if it fails?
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Reposted by Matthew Evans
100% Assessment open.substack.com/pub/100asses...
Creating people
How tests shape the way pupils see themselves
open.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:55 PM
100% Assessment open.substack.com/pub/100asses...
100% Assessment open.substack.com/pub/100asses...
Creating people
How tests shape the way pupils see themselves
open.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:55 PM
100% Assessment open.substack.com/pub/100asses...
A great piece of research. Thank you.
New research with @clareroutledge.bsky.social
Funded by the Gatsby Foundation
We asked 2000 UK/US undergrads to choose between pairs of hypothetical jobs to understand how more of them could be tempted into teaching
Funded by the Gatsby Foundation
We asked 2000 UK/US undergrads to choose between pairs of hypothetical jobs to understand how more of them could be tempted into teaching
November 28, 2025 at 12:42 PM
A great piece of research. Thank you.
Reposted by Matthew Evans
This is excellent and a great follow on from dialogue yesterday: schoolsweek.co.uk/the-real-sen...
The real SEND story behind the OBR shock
One trust leader calls for caution over shock estimates of the potential impact of SEND funding
schoolsweek.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 3:10 PM
This is excellent and a great follow on from dialogue yesterday: schoolsweek.co.uk/the-real-sen...
Reposted by Matthew Evans
Reposted by Matthew Evans
New study on motivation: classrooms where mastery goals are normal seem to produce students whose perseverance grows instead of fading. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
November 21, 2025 at 6:42 AM
New study on motivation: classrooms where mastery goals are normal seem to produce students whose perseverance grows instead of fading. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#FridayFive
1. Like a Hurricane - New Young
2. June Rain - Suede
3. Sometimes - James
4. Here Comes the Rain Again - Eurythmics
5. Happy When it Rains- The Jesus and Mary Chain
1. Like a Hurricane - New Young
2. June Rain - Suede
3. Sometimes - James
4. Here Comes the Rain Again - Eurythmics
5. Happy When it Rains- The Jesus and Mary Chain
November 14, 2025 at 4:52 PM
#FridayFive
1. Like a Hurricane - New Young
2. June Rain - Suede
3. Sometimes - James
4. Here Comes the Rain Again - Eurythmics
5. Happy When it Rains- The Jesus and Mary Chain
1. Like a Hurricane - New Young
2. June Rain - Suede
3. Sometimes - James
4. Here Comes the Rain Again - Eurythmics
5. Happy When it Rains- The Jesus and Mary Chain
Reposted by Matthew Evans
New on 100% Assessment Substack: Does Your Test Really Measure Attainment? When summed scores mislead and how IRT helps
100assessment.substack.com/p/does-your-...
@head-teach.bsky.social
100assessment.substack.com/p/does-your-...
@head-teach.bsky.social
November 8, 2025 at 6:26 PM
New on 100% Assessment Substack: Does Your Test Really Measure Attainment? When summed scores mislead and how IRT helps
100assessment.substack.com/p/does-your-...
@head-teach.bsky.social
100assessment.substack.com/p/does-your-...
@head-teach.bsky.social