Workshop 1 – How hard can it be? Issues around how best to provide evidence for assessment validity, reliability and fairness: The practice and challenge of validation
Stuart Shaw

Abstract: The responsibility for assessment providers to demonstrate robust and thorough validity evidence is a long-established expectation as are warnings about the “potentially serious consequences” (Kane, 2009, p.61) of shirking such responsibilities. Even assessment providers that have limited resources will still have a responsibility to demonstrate the quality and validity of their assessments. This workshop – intended to make the complexities of validation theory and practice less challenging and more readily operational, will consist of an introductory overview followed by five sessions (each punctuated by group discussions) taking as their focus: theoretical challenges; practical challenges; contemporary views of validation practice; construction of validation arguments; and the sufficiency and relevance of validity evidence. Read More

Workshop 2 – Put your test to the test: Assessing test quality
Bas Hemker and Cor Sluijter

Abstract: Educational tests serve a specific goal, such as evaluation, monitoring, diagnostics, selection or guidance. Such a goal is only met, if the test is of sufficient quality. This workshop aims to provide participants with practical tools to evaluate the quality of a test.
Our target audience consists of people involved in test development. Participants should have experience with at least some of the elements of test production. They also should have an understanding of the basic psychometric principles of testing. In the theoretical part of the workshop we give an overview of evaluation systems and show their similarities and differences.Read More

Workshop 3 – Item Banking and the Assembly of Test Forms
Angela Verschoor and Roel Visseren