Symposium: Pluralism in Assessment, 15th January 2016, Luxembourg

In the year 2000 the OECD introduced the PISA-studies to evaluate the academic achievement of 15-year-old students in mathematics, science and reading. Feeling the necessity to score high on PISA, governments rely more and more on quantitative measures to assess students and have increased the frequency of testing in general. Standardised testing is supposed to hold teachers and schools accountable by making students’ performance comparable and by ranking schools. Research has shown that being put under this strict regime, teachers have an incentive to merely teach to the test instead of offering a creative and engaging learning environment, while both teachers and students suffer from increasing levels of stress in the classroom. This conference is meant to look into the effects of standardised testing and assessment on both teachers and students. Furthermore, the conference is supposed to identify forms of evaluation and assessment that support students’ learning outcomes and their well-being holistically and promote creativity, motivation and self-confidence. Keynote speeches

• The Global Change of Education: Functions and Dysfunctions of Standardized Testing
  Heinz-Dieter Meyer (Ph.D), State University of New York,
• The effects of the learning outcomes approach in education and its implications for teaching and assessment
  Jens Bjornavold, Senior expert at CEDEFOP

Panel discussions

• Learning for assessment?
  Which effects do standardised tests have on both teaching and well-being of teachers and students?
  Moderation: Jean Gordon, Independent Consultant, Fellow of the Learning for Well-being Community
• Assessment for Learning: Towards a more holistic approach
  How can students be assessed differently and in a more holistic way?
  Moderation: Margareta Van Raemdonck, European Portfolio Certificate, European council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE)

Keynote speakers

• Heinz-Dieter Meyer (Ph.D), State University of New York, Co-author of “PISA, Power, and Policy: The emergence of global educational governance.”, Initiator of the critical open letter to Andreas Schleicher, albany.edu
• Jens Bjornavold, Senior Expert at CEDEFOP, writer and lecturer on “The effects of the learning outcomes approach in education and its implications for teaching and assessment” cedefop.europa.eu 

Speakers

• Dip.Päd. François Carbon, University of Luxembourg, Member of the European Cultural Parliament, wwwen.uni.lu
• Dr. Detlef Hardorp, Steiner School Certificate, European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE), ecswe.net
• Laufey María Jóhannsdóttir, Organising Bureau of the European School Students Unions (OBESSU), obessu.org/board
• Jasmijn Kester, Rector of the Vathorst College, vathorstcollege.nl
• Dr. Richard Landl, President of the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education (ECSWE), www.ecswe.net
• Prof. Dr. Georg Mein, Dean of the Faculty of Language and Literature, Humanities, Arts and Education, University of Luxembourg, wwwen.uni.lu
• Dr. Michael Schulz, coordinator of Internal Baccalaureate programme, Waldorf School Luxembourg, www.waldorf.lu
• Ulrike Sievers, European Portfolio Certificate, Waldorf School Elmshorn, waldorf-elmshorn.de
• Mag. Johannes Theiner, Ambassador of the European Parents Association (EPA), euparents.eu

Facilitator

• Luís Manuel Pinto, Universal Education Foundation, l4wb.org

Moderators

• Jean Gordon, Independent Consultant, Fellow of the Learning for Well-being Community, l4wb.org
• Margareta Van Raemdonck, European Portfolio Certificate, ECSWE, epc-group.org

*** What effects do standardised tests have on the quality of teaching and the well-being of students and teachers?  Can we find assessment methods that support students’ learning outcomes and their well-being holistically? Date:
Friday, 15^th January 2016
9.00 – 16.00 Venue:
University of Luxembourg, Campus Limpertsberg
162a, avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg [ Download the Flyer ]
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