Colin Watson

Colin Watson, CEO of ACER UK, is an experienced senior leader in education with over 20 years’ experience of developing and delivering national assessments.

His previous role was as the Deputy Director for Assessment Research and Development at the Standards and Testing Agency where he was accountable for the validity and reliability of all national tests. Colin has also worked internationally on the global standards work to support reporting against sustainable development goal 4.1 on learner attainment.

Current projects

• Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (Jan 2024-Present) – Learning Assessment Support Project: working with countries to improve their assessment systems for global reporting, with current projects in Ghana, Rwanda, Malawi and Somalia
• World Bank (Jan 2025-Present) – Reviewing the Organisation for Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)’s grade 2 regional learning assessment to assure appropriateness for reporting on international learning indicators
• Nursing and Midwifery Council (Aug 2023-Present) – Maintenance and development of the Test of Competence: assessment for overseas nurses wanting to work in the UK 

Previous projects

• Council of International School (Mar 23–Jan 25) – Pedagogy in International Schools: research to support schools in making pedagogical decisions
• UNESCO Institute of Statistics (Aug 22–Mar 23) – Policy linking Toolkit Review: to update the toolkit to address lessons learnt