~ Educational measurement and assessment

Network 1: Educational measurement and assessment

Educational measurement and assessment is a very broadly scoped topic with relevance for all aspects of educational research. As such it could be regarded as implicitly covered by the existing networks in NERA. Although most assessments would specifically relate to a substantial dimension in education (e.g. early childhood, special needs education, policy issues in education, higher education, etc.) it is also a field in itself. Internationally this is witnessed by the large number of academic organisations, conferences and journals specifically addressing issues in assessment and/or measurement. Initially, the field was dominated by US and English scholars. However, over the last decades this is an academic field with increasing interest and scientific production across the globe, including the Nordic countries, probably fuelled by a range of global “movements” or policy changes, e.g. international large-scale studies, national assessment systems, assessment for learning, evidence-informed practice, etc.

Although many similarities exist across the Nordic countries regarding how we both think about and organise education, it is interesting to observe for instance the rather different approaches to nationwide, systematic assessments chosen in the Nordic countries. This provides a very interesting diversity of policies, theoretical backgrounds and normative foundations affecting how educational assessment is conceptualised and practiced across our countries. A tentative conclusion could therefore be that there is no such thing as a “Nordic model” of educational assessment. It is therefore very timely to establish an arena for researchers in this field to facilitate mutual exchange of ideas with specific relevance for the Nordic countries.

The network is open for researchers working with all aspects of issues related to assessment across all sectors in the educational domain, including for instance research targeting:

  • The link between theories of assessment and learning
  • Technological development in assessment
  • Innovative assessment formats
  • Assessment and measurement of new types of constructs
  • Comparisons of assessments across the Nordic countries
  • Legislation and assessment
  • Assessment as an integral part of instruction
  • History and policy of assessment
  • Classroom assessment
  • Use of assessment data for accountability and/or school development
  • Policy issues by using data from large-scale assessments
  • Issues of validity, fairness and equity in assessment
  • Psychometric theory and practice