Education symposium to discuss national standards and assessment practices

Educational researchers, assessment experts and educators will be meeting to discuss national standards and educational assessment practices at a national symposium this week.

The Symposium on Assessment and Learner Outcomes is being hosted at Rutherford House in Wellington from 1 to 3 September 2011, co-sponsored by Victoria University, the University of Auckland, the Ministry of Education, and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

More than 200 participants from New Zealand and overseas will hear dozens of presentations from across the educational sector on secondary assessment, national standards, assessment in Maori medium (where students are taught either all or some curriculum subjects in the Maori language), and the latest advances in research-led assessment practices.

The symposium will feature prominent international scholars, including Professor Eva Baker from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the USA and Professor Val Klenowski from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia.

"This is an outstanding opportunity for educational researchers, assessment experts, and educators including school leaders and teachers to learn the latest evidence-based best practices," says symposium coordinator Dr Mimi Hodis, Research and Development Officer at Victoria University's Jessie Hetherington Centre for Educational Research.

"Co-sponsorship by two major universities and the key government bodies managing New Zealand assessment policy and practice has resulted in a highly relevant programme of interest to educationalists."

The presentations from educational researchers, policymakers and practitioners include innovative developments, research findings, and challenges for primary and secondary education as well as early childhood and tertiary across all three days of the conference. Saturday's programme also features workshops designed for teachers and other school personnel to enhance assessments of student achievement and educational outcomes.

Additional keynote addresses by Kiritina Johnstone (Ministry of Education) on Aromatawai me nga Whanaketanga (assessment and literacy and numeracy national standards) in Maori medium education, Professor John Hattie (now at the University of Melbourne) on New Zealand's National Education Standards, and Professor Luanna Meyer (Victoria University) on secondary assessment and the NCEA will highlight New Zealand contributions to assessment policy, practice and research nationally and internationally.