Mission statement

Methodological Challenges in Educational Measurement

CEMO’s mission is, firstly, to move the field of educational measurement forward. This includes an orientation towards action such as the development of instruments that balance educational quality, equity, and effectiveness but also towards reaction such as addressing concerns about unintended consequences and side-effects of assessments by examining these in-depth. A special objective of CEMO is to contextualize educational assessments in the societal and cultural characteristics of the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), with the intention to “unpack” the Nordic model.

Secondly, CEMO’s mission is to cover the full cycle of educational measurement including research on a theory-driven definition of how to assess constructs, on the development of appropriate instruments to observe these constructs, on ways to collect, code, and score observations, on how to model the data, and on reporting and communication of results. A special feature of CEMO is the combination of basic research in the field of educational measurement with applications of advanced measurement techniques to educational problems.

CEMO’s third mission is to bring substantive and methodological experts together to work on an integrated approach to educational measurement. Measurement in education is inherently challenging given the complexity of constructs, diversity of populations, and the potential within- and between-population differences of the constructs that we attempt to measure. Interdisciplinary collaboration is therefore a fruitful way to overcome these challenges and, as such, is a goal of CEMO.

Finally, CEMO strives to address research or methods biases by considering many different outcomes (cognitive, socio-emotional, long-term), taking quality and quantity of contexts and processes into account (opportunities to learn, student characteristics, and resources), using different types of instruments (paper- and pencil tests, performance assessments, technology-based assessments) and by covering a wide range of target populations (early childhood, primary and secondary education, higher education, adults).

Published Dec. 15, 2014 2:16 PM - Last modified Feb. 27, 2023 12:43 PM