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Overview

Professor Peter Tymms

Emeritus Professor


Affiliations
AffiliationTelephone
Emeritus Professor in the School of Education
Fellow of the Durham Research Methods Centre

Biography

Affiliate of the Durham University Evidence Centre for Education

Emeritus Professor in the School of Education

Fellow of the British Academy

Academician: Academy of Social Sciences

Fellow in the Durham Research Methods Centre

Fellow of the Wolfson Research Institute for Health and Wellbeing

After taking a degree from Cambridge University in Natural Sciences Peter Tymms taught in a wide variety of schools from Central Africa to the north-east of England before starting an academic career.

He was “Lecturer in Performance Indicators” at Moray House, Edinburgh before moving to Newcastle University and then to Durham University where he is presently Professor of Education.He led the start of the UK Rasch User Group started the PIPS project

His main research interests include monitoring, assessment, performance indicators, ADHD, reading and research methodology. The PIPS project, which is designed to monitor the affective and cognitive progress of children through primary schools starting with a computer adaptive on-entry baseline assessment. Peter Tymms was Director of the CEM Centre until 2011 when he took over as Head of Department and Chair of the Board of Studies in the School of Education. At present he is devoting his time to setting up an international project designed to study children starting school around the world. The project is known as iPIPS .

Completed Supervisions

The Binormal Hypothesis of Specific Learning Disabilities

Factors Underlying Students' Conceptions of Deep Time: An Exploratory Study

An Item Response Theory Approach to the Maintenance of
Standards in Public Examinations in England

Building Schools of Character: The Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a School-Based Character Education Programme Designed to Promote Cooperative Learning and Reduce Anti-Social Behaviour

Classroom management approaches of primary teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Descriptions and the development of curriculum and instruction with a focus on Islamic education teachers.

An exploration of the effects of group summative assessment marking on higher education students’ overall marks.

Developing, Testing and Interpreting a Cross Age Peer Tutoring Intervention for Mathematics: Social Interdependence,Systematic Reviews and an Empirical Study.

The theoretical and practical value of the OECD policy advice for education.

Teachers’ perceptions on the effectiveness of the Oxford Online Placement Test at King Abdulaziz University

Information for prospective doctoral research student supervisions

Professor Tymms is semi-retired and is not taking on new students

Research interests

  • Monitoring
  • Assessment & testing
  • Educational standards
  • Primary schools
  • ADHD

Esteem Indicators

  • 2000: Fellow of the British Academy:
  • 2000: Fellow of the Wolfson Research Institute, Durham University:
  • 2000: Academician: Academy of Social Sciences
  • 2000: Member: Education Advisory Group Education Endowment Foundation
  • 2000: Winner: Excellence in Knowledge Transfer Award Durham University (joint: 2015)
  • 2000: Originator: Online Educational Research Journal
  • 2000: Inaugural Member: Sutton Trust's Education Advisory Group

Publications

Authored book

Book review

Chapter in book

  • Questionnaires
    Tymms, P. (in press). Questionnaires. In R. Coe, M. Waring, L. V. Hedges, & J. Arthur (Eds.), Research Methods and Methodologies in Education (pp. 277-288). SAGE Publications.
  • Innovation and change within education
    Tymms, P., & Bolden, D. (2023). Innovation and change within education. In D. D. Preiss, M. Singer, & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), Creativity, Innovation, and Change Across Cultures (1st ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28206-5
  • A Reflection on Three Decades of Development
    Tymms, P. (2023). A Reflection on Three Decades of Development. In P. Tymms, T. Bartholo, S. Howie, E. Kardanova, M. Campelo Koslinski, & H. Wildy (Eds.), The First Year at School: An International Perspective (1st ed., pp. 3-24). Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28589-9_1
  • Questionnaires.
    Tymms, P. (2021). Questionnaires. In R. Coe, M. Waring, L. Hedges, & L. Ashley (Eds.), Research Methods and Methodologies in Education (pp. 231-240). SAGE Publications.
  • Ensuring standards in English A levels
    Tymms, P. (2018). Ensuring standards in English A levels. In J. Baird, T. Isaacs, D. Opposs, & L. Gray (Eds.), Examination Standards: How measures and meanings differ around the world (p. 359). IOE Press.
  • Ensuring standards in English A levels
    Tymms, P. (2018). Ensuring standards in English A levels. In J. Baird, T. Isaacs, D. Opposs, & L. Gray (Eds.), How measures and meanings differ around the world. UCL IOE Press.
  • Purposes for Educational Research
    Tymms, P. (2017). Purposes for Educational Research. In D. Wyse, N. Selwyn, E. Smith, & L. Suter (Eds.), The BERA/SAGE handbook of educational research. (pp. 165-179). SAGE Publications.
  • Assessing Young Children: Problems and Solutions
    Merrell, C., & Tymms, P. (2016). Assessing Young Children: Problems and Solutions. In Understanding what works in oral reading assessments : recommendations from Donors, implementers and practitioners. (pp. 126-133). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). https://doi.org/10.15220/978-92-9189-196-2-en
  • Improving Reading and Math Achievement across a Whole District.
    Thurston, A., Tymms, P., Merrell, C., & Conlin, N. (2014). Improving Reading and Math Achievement across a Whole District. In R. Slavin (Ed.), Classroom Management and Assessment. California: Corwin.
  • Interventions: experiments.
    Tymms, P. (2012). Interventions: experiments. In J. Arthur, M. Waring, R. Coe, & L. Hedges (Eds.), Research Methods and Methodologies in Education. (pp. 137-140). SAGE Publications.
  • What the evidence says and what we need to investigate
    Elliott, J., & Tymms, P. (2012). What the evidence says and what we need to investigate. In S. Suggate & E. Reese (Eds.), Contemporary Debates in Childhood Education and Development (pp. 275-284). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203115558
  • Ability Testing
    Tymms, P. (2010). Ability Testing. In P. Peterson, E. Baker, & B. McGaw (Eds.), International encyclopedia of education. (pp. 1-6). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-08-044894-7.00225-6
  • Conclusions: Assessment in an Era of Globalization.
    Tymms, P., & Coe, R. (2009). Conclusions: Assessment in an Era of Globalization. In E. Grigorenko (Ed.), Multicultural Psychoeducational Assessment. (pp. 469-485). Apex.
  • Attainment, Standards and Quality.
    Tymms, P., & Merrell, C. (2009). Attainment, Standards and Quality. In R. Alexander (Ed.), Children, their World, their Education: Final report and recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review.. Routledge.
  • On-entry Baseline Assessment across Cultures.
    Tymms, P., & Merrell, C. (2009). On-entry Baseline Assessment across Cultures. In A. Anning, J. Cullen, & M. Fleers (Eds.), Early Childhood Education: Society and Culture.. Sage Publications.
  • Conclusion: Assessment in an Era of Globalization: Conclusions
    Tymms, P., & Coe, R. (2009). Conclusion: Assessment in an Era of Globalization: Conclusions. In E. Grigorenko (Ed.), Multicultural Psychoeducational Assessment.. Springer Verlag.
  • Commentary on Chapter 10.
    Tymms, P. (2008). Commentary on Chapter 10. In P. Newton, J.-A. Baird, H. Goldstein, H. Patrick, & P. (eds) Tymms (Eds.), Techniques for monitoring the comparability of examination standards. (pp. 434-438). QCA.
  • Commentary on Chapter 8.
    Coe, R., Tymms, P., & Fitz-Gibbon, C. (2008). Commentary on Chapter 8. In P. Newton, J.-A. Baird, H. Goldstein, H. Patrick, & P. (eds) Tymms (Eds.), Techniques for monitoring the comparability of examination standards. (pp. 324-329). QCA.
  • The Impact of Headteachers on the Performance and Attitudes of Pupils.
    Searle, J., & Tymms, P. (2007). The Impact of Headteachers on the Performance and Attitudes of Pupils. In J. O’Shaughnessy (Ed.), The Leadership Effect: Can Headteachers make a Difference? (pp. 18-42). Policy Exchange.
  • The Prediction of Learning Progress in Young Children using Social-Ethnic Background or Baseline Assessment as Predictors.
    van der Hoeven-van Doornum, A., & Tymms, P. (2005). The Prediction of Learning Progress in Young Children using Social-Ethnic Background or Baseline Assessment as Predictors. In A. van der Hoeven-van Doornum (Ed.), Development on Scale, Instruction at Measure: OBis, a System of Value Added Indicators in Primary Education. (pp. 101-111). ITs, Radboud Universiteit.
  • Effect sizes in multilevel models
    Tymms, P. (2004). Effect sizes in multilevel models. In I. Schagen & K. Elliot (Eds.), But what does it mean? The use of effect sizes in educational research. (pp. 55-66). National Foundation for Educational Research.
  • On-entry baseline assessment across cultures
    Tymms, P., & Merrell, C. (2004). On-entry baseline assessment across cultures. In A. Anning, J. Cullen, & M. Fleer (Eds.), Early childhood education : society and culture. (pp. 117-129). SAGE Publications.
  • Developing a picture of attainments and progress of deaf pupils in primary schools
    Tate, G., Merrell, C., & Tymms, P. (2003). Developing a picture of attainments and progress of deaf pupils in primary schools. In C. Gallaway & A. Young (Eds.), Deafness and Education in the UK. Research Perspectives. Whurr.
  • Performance Indicators in Primary Schools.
    Tymms, P., & Albone, S. (2002). Performance Indicators in Primary Schools. In A. Visscher & R. Coe (Eds.), School Improvement through Performance Feedback.. Swets & Zeitlinger.
  • Achievement and Educational Performance: A Cause for Celebration?
    Fitz-Gibbon, C., & Tymms, P. (2001). Achievement and Educational Performance: A Cause for Celebration?. In R. Phillips & J. Furlong (Eds.), Education, Reform and the State: Twenty-Five Years of Politics, Policy and Practice. RoutledgeFalmer.
  • Interventions: Experiments
    Tymms, P. (n.d.). Interventions: Experiments. In R. Coe, M. Waring, L. V. Hedges, & J. Arthur (Eds.), Research Methods and Methodologies in Education [Contracted by publisher]. SAGE Publications.

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