I was interested in A M Hills’ letter and his experiences of the threshold assessors coursenbsp;run by the Centre for British Teachers in London.

He raises a number of points, which deserve response.

• The three-day course started on underground strike day and five candidates did not turn up which gave us 86 per cent attendance rather than the 75 per cent stated
• Mr Hill acknowledges the quality of the materials and indeed they have gained consistently high ratings on past courses, which now average 95 per cent
• The content of the courses are agreed with the DfEE and for threshold assessors there are four assessed tasks, which have been structured to ensure that there is appropriate range and degree of rigour. This is the first time it has been raised as a significant issue
• Role play, which Mr Hill felt was “almost totally ignored”, is a task included on the course but it is not an assessed activity in this particular programme
• The overall assessment for this course was 76 per cent satisfaction, lower than average for other assessor courses, which currently stands at 87 per cent.

• We aim to improve the quality of these and other coursesnbsp;and we value all feedback. While Mr Hill was clearly unhappy, we have received letters from others on the course saying they found it rewarding and enjoyable.
  
  J P Watts
  Director of programmes, Centre for British Teachers