Overview
Inaugural Conference Program
March 28–29, 2012
Cowin Center, Teachers College
Columbia University
New York, N.Y.
Sponsored by Teachers College and Educational Testing Service
This year's conference is designed to discuss issues related to valid and meaningful use of educational assessment information around the world. It seeks to promote conversations on validity among technical and non-technical audiences who could impact appropriate use of educational assessments in applied educational settings. The conference presentations will cover educational assessment systems designed to measure student achievement and to evaluate teachers, schools and institutions, examining where and how validity breaks down and how it can be improved in practice and policy contexts.
The conference is geared towards educators, funders, policymakers, managers and technical staff of assessment programs, and users of assessment information.
This conference will be immediately followed by a two-day AERI Institute event which includes a sampler of short courses on assessment and evaluation topics delivered by expert faculty. Details regarding courses and faculty will be available at http://www.tc.edu/aeriassessmentconference.
Format
Each session will be two hours in length. A keynote speaker will present for 30 minutes on the topic, followed by four panelists, each of whom will have 10 minutes to address the remarks of the keynote speaker and present his/her own perspective. The rest of the session will be dedicated to questions and discussion with members of the audience. Each session will have a moderator who will keep track of the time and coordinate the question and answer period. Following the conference, speakers will submit their papers and presentations to a publication that will be made available in print and on the web.
Publication
Keynote speakers will be expected to prepare a 20-page paper with their remarks. Panelists are expected to prepare a 10-page paper with their comments about the topic and keynote address.
