Report of the IAEA2019 Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan

The 45th edition of the annual conference of the International Association for Educational Assessment took place from 22 to 27 September. This time in the famous Flame Towers in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

As RCEC we had the opportunity to actively contribute to the programme entitled ‘Assessment & Decision Making’. On Sunday 22 September we provided a pre-conference workshop entitled ‘RCEC Review System for the Quality of Examination’. In an interactive afternoon filling program Arnold Brouwer introduced the 25 participants from 12 countries (Azerbaijan, Ghana, Iran, Israel, Kazachstan, Malawi, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Swaziland, Thailand and Zambia) to the content and function of the RCEC review system. After everyone had briefly introduced themselves, we started with a first introductory assignment. This was followed by an explanation of the literature of qualitative examination and how this was operationalised by RCEC in the review system and the audit process. Then there was time to answer questions, which resulted in a lively discussion.

After the break we worked in small groups on two assignments. In the first assignment, the participants practised with the substantive and organisational aspects of the review system. This was followed by a short explanation of how to read the output of a test and item analysis. Subsequently, the groups started answering some sub-criteria of the psychometric aspects of the review system. At the end of the afternoon the participants filled in an evaluation form. The workshop was rated as ‘good to very good’ and received attention in the evening news from Azertac, the official press agency of Azerbaijan.

On Monday afternoon a panel session followed, in which RCEC, in addition to AQA Education Limited and Cambrigde Assessment, gave a presentation on the subject of ‘Assessment Review Systems’. This was another interactive session that was enthusiastically received by the participants.

The rest of the week there was enough time to follow interesting presentations, exchange knowledge, make new contacts and get acquainted with the rich culture and history of Azerbaijan. We look back on a very successful congress and thank once again the State Examination Centre for their professional organisation.