Stobart is a Professor emeritus at the Institute of Education in London and a Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University Centre for Educational Assessment. After working eight years as a secondary school teacher he retrained as an Educational Psychologist and moved into educational research after conducting his doctoral studies in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar. He is a former editor (2003-2008) of the journal Assessment in Education and currently serves on its executive board. In his most recent book Testing Times – the uses and abuses of assessment (2008) Stobart addresses the multiple purposes and inappropriate uses of assessments and tests.
Stobart is a founding member of the Assessment Reform Group (ARG) in the United Kingdom, which was disbanded in 2010 having been at the forefront of challenging thinking and practice in relation to all aspects of assessment for more than 20 years. Its aim was to ensure that assessment policy and practice at all levels takes account of relevant research evidence. ARG included acknowledged UK scholars such as Paul Black, Dylan Wiliam, Patricia Broadfoot, John Gardner, Caroline Gipps, Wynne Harlen, Kathryn Ecclestone, Mary James, Richard Daugherty, Paul Newton and Jo-Anne Baird.
Program
10:15 Welcome
Berit Karseth, Professor and Head of the CLEG research group
10:30 The legacy of the Assessment Reform Group and «Assessment for Learning» in the UK
Gordon Stobart, Professor and founding member of Assessment Reform Group
11:30 Plenum discussions
12:00 Lunch
12:45 Assessment Reform Group and the Norwegian context
Sverre Tveit, PhD research fellow, Department of Educational Research
13:30 Curriculum and assessment in Norway and Finland
Christina Elde Mølstad, PhD research fellow, Department of Educational Research
14:00 Conclusion