This autumn, Qpercom’s founder, Dr Thomas Kropmans, travelled to Paphos, Cyprus, to attend the 25th annual Association for Educational Assessment (AEA-Europe) conference1. Taking place in a different European city each year, this three-day event serves as a key gathering for professionals in educational assessment to exchange ideas, explore new developments, and engage in thought-provoking discussions.
The 2024 conference included pre-conference workshops, expert-led presentations, and dynamic debates on current challenges in the field. Attendees also enjoyed networking opportunities at social events hosted in historic Cypriot venues, featuring local cuisine, wine, and cultural entertainment, making it a perfect blend of professional growth and cultural immersion.
The AEA 2024 conference featured several keynotes that explored contemporary issues in educational assessment. Dr. Yiasemina Karagiorgi, head of educational research for the Cyprus Ministry of Education, opened discussions by addressing evolving evaluation paradigms in education. Her talk emphasised the critical integration of research-based evaluation strategies within institutional frameworks, advocating for approaches that are both relevant and culturally adapted.
Dr. Heather Kayton, from the University of Oxford, provided insights into the comparability and validity of PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) data in South Africa. She discussed challenges related to cross-national assessment validity, emphasising the need for culturally and contextually sensitive measures to ensure fair assessments across diverse populations.
Associate Professor Joshua McGrane, from the University of Melbourne, highlighted progressive methods in student assessment, particularly adaptive assessments that respond to students’ individual learning trajectories. He argued that formative assessment tools that personalise feedback, enhance students’ motivation and engagement with the material.
In a keynote session on artificial intelligence, Professor Chris DeLuca, of Queen’s University in Canada, discussed the growing role of AI in assessing complex student skills, including AI’s potential to support large-scale adaptive testing and formative feedback mechanisms. His analysis highlighted the promising, yet ethically complex, opportunities AI presents in managing and scaling educational assessments efficiently.
These keynotes collectively underscored the conference’s theme of balancing innovative assessment practices with ethical and contextual considerations. The speakers addressed both technological advancements in the field and the enduring need to prioritise equity and cultural sensitivity in educational assessment.
- https://2024.aea-europe.net/ ↩︎
