Isabelle Stevens is a recent Psychology Graduate (pictured second from left, above) who worked on an internship with The Assessment Network at Cambridge in 2025. Here she reflects on the projects she worked on, and how immersing herself in the world of assessment made her reconsider her assessment ‘identity’.
Before interning at The Assessment Network at Cambridge, I held the ‘classic’ student's perspective on assessment.
For me, assessments were all about exams. A key part of my 19 years in education and one that I never fully understood the complexity of until working at Cambridge. I viewed them as a tool used by teachers and lecturers to inject pure horror into their students! A tool with the sole purpose of testing my memory and producing a mark at the end.
Unsurprisingly, this perspective is far from accurate. Assessment is so much more than just an exam. The long pipeline of development, ensuring they’re inclusive, accessible, valid and reliable, is something I completely overlooked.
Assessment is not just the exam in front of a student in an exam hall; it represents a whole cycle of work. From the design and development of qualifications and quality assurance to marking and maintaining standards, there is so much involved in the process before the exam paper is put in front of me.
Stepping into the internship, I quickly began to see the complexity of assessment in action. I joined the team as a Marketing and Communications Intern, working on projects that ranged from producing a video series for social media and the website to engaging with members through interviews for a ‘Member Spotlight feature’.
Each project allowed me to not only develop practical skills in project management, communication and content creation, but also to witness first-hand the intricacies of assessment development and reform.
Careers in Assessment
One of the first projects that demonstrated this intricacy was a video series on ‘Careers in Assessment’. This covered what assessment is, common misconceptions about it, and the diverse journeys colleagues have taken to work in this field.
In this project, I gained invaluable insight from assessment experts about their roles and how each contributes to the work conducted at Cambridge. It truly opened my eyes to the sheer scale and complexity of assessment, and it was fascinating to see how different departments and individuals bring such a wide range of skills and expertise to create high-quality assessments.
Working on the video about common misconceptions helped me see assessment as something far more nuanced than exams and grading. I realised that assessment is everywhere, woven into many aspects of everyday life, including a first date!"I found this project particularly valuable, as it helped deliver educational insights, explaining what assessment truly involves, and provided viewers with a deeper understanding of the work carried out at Cambridge.
Assessment Practitioner Workshops
Alongside the ‘Careers in Assessment’ series, I worked on a project that expanded my understanding in a different way. This involved interviewing the trainers behind the Assessment Practitioner Workshops offered by The Assessment Network.
Transforming these interviews into videos showcased what the workshops offer, helping to inform and inspire others interested in assessment and those considering taking the workshops. Engaging with the trainers allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the content, goals, and impact of each workshop. From learning about the key considerations involved in writing assessment questions to encountering concepts like item banking for the first time, this project significantly expanded my own assessment glossary and introduced me to aspects of assessment development I had never encountered before.
Meeting the members
I also had the opportunity to engage with two of our members by interviewing them for a ‘Member Spotlight’ feature. Their responses were incredibly insightful and broadened my understanding of assessment beyond the Cambridge context, extending into areas such as electrical installation apprenticeships. Reading their answers exposed me to a range of factors that can influence assessment outcomes, such as nervousness as a form of 'construct irrelevant variance', which can affect assessment validity and lower pass rates.
I also learned about mode effects, where identically worded questions can produce different results purely because people tend to think less deeply when reading from a screen. I enjoyed this project not only for what it taught me about the complexities of assessment, but also for the genuine enthusiasm our members have for The Assessment Network, the courses we offer, and the field of assessment.
CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition
A final highlight was attending the CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition 2025. I joined my colleagues in representing The Assessment Network and exhibiting across both days of the conference. Being provided with this opportunity to speak with a wide range of delegates, from students to HR directors, gave me a deeper understanding of the range of products we offer and how they support so many different assessment contexts. I further developed my understanding of the vital role assessment plays across people and organisations, supporting recruitment, learning and development, risk assessment, performance assessment, and more. Hearing firsthand from delegates about the impact assessments have in their work and how our courses can support them was incredibly insightful and a powerful reminder of the importance of assessments and the work of The Assessment Network.
Reflecting on my own 'assessment identity'
Looking back on the internship as a whole, these projects and experiences have fundamentally changed how I understand assessment." Being immersed in the work of The Assessment Network and collaborating with colleagues across Cambridge University Press & Assessment has given me a completely new insight into the expertise behind assessment.
These experiences have reshaped my own assessment identity, making me far more aware of the many elements involved in creating an assessment and the careful judgement that informs every question and marking decision. I’m beyond grateful to the team for the opportunity to work with them and for everything they’ve taught me. Their support and guidance, as well as the warm welcome they gave me, made my internship incredibly rewarding. It has provided me with so many new skills and experiences and has genuinely transformed the way I understand and value assessment.