Blogs by The Assessment Network

Understanding item banking is essential for professionals involved in creating assessment content in a variety of contexts. In this blog, Margaret Cooze, a freelance language and assessment specialist with years of experience working at Cambridge, sheds light on the fundamental aspects of item banking.

Cambridge Assessment Network member Tonia Parker is Department Chair for Psychology for the American Public University System. We spoke with her about her learning from A104 and developing a data code of ethics in Higher Education assessments.

The Assessment Network have launched a new workshop to help practitioners understand the fundamentals of research to empower their assessments. We spoke with the course trainers Dr Sylvia Vitello, Dominika Majewska, and Emma Walland, about their research careers, and discussed why research remains a cornerstone of great assessment practice.

To start the year, the Assessment Network team has asked experts from across our community to share their predictions on some of the key trends which will likely appear or develop in assessment in 2024.

Cambridge Assessment Network member Phillip Bryant is Head of End Point Assessment & Apprenticeships for the International Compliance Association. We spoke with him about AI opportunities and challenges in assessment design, the benefits of competency based assessments and his 'lightbulb moment' around creating truly accessible assessments.

Cambridge Assessment Network member Scarlett Wang is an Economics Teacher based in Shanghai. We spoke with her about how she got interested in learning more about assessment and why that led her to studying on the Advanced Assessment Practitioner Award.

Recently, our Professional Development Projects Specialist, Hannah Williams, attended the annual Assessment in Higher Education conference (AHE) in Manchester. This event brought together educators, professionals, and experts from various fields to explore the evolving landscape of assessments in higher education.

Abigail Trickey is a musician, graduate of our Postgraduate Advanced Certificate, and last year completed an MEd at the University of Cambridge. We spoke with her about her research – which investigated changes made to music assessments during the pandemic - and how these changes impacted teachers and learners.

Despite being an assessment specialist based in Latin America, Verónica Floretta has managed to build a bridge between professionals across the globe as a Cambridge Assessment Network Ambassador.

Linguist and Cambridge Centre Exams Manager, Amanda Jane Lowles wanted a greater understanding of what practices went into the creation of her Centre’s assessments. By utilising A10 courses such as A101: Introducing the Principles of Assessment which are offered by Cambridge Assessment Network, Amanda has now gained this important expertise.