Category Archives: Education

by Steve Dept, cApStAn CEO A majority of test providers have migrated from pencil-and-paper assessments to computer-based assessments in the first two decades of this century, and this has driven a surge in sophisticated testing platforms. These offer a broad range of advantages: from enhanced testing experience for respondents to adaptive testing, from end-to-end test …

“How to avoid the hidden threats to translation quality in computer-based assessments”

The role of international assessment programmes in the development of New Uzbekistan In September 2021, Uzbekistan celebrated the 30th anniversary of its independence. If there is one Central Asian country that is determined to implement far-sighted reforms and achieve sustainable development goals, then it is Uzbekistan. The progress towards a free civil society with a …

“PISA 2022 LAUNCH EVENT in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 11-12 April 2022”

The State Inspectorate for Supervision of Quality in Education (SISQE), Uzbekistan in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Education, National Center for International Studies on the Assessments of Quality in Education, OECD, UNICEF, World Bank, UNESCO are organizing a in-person/virtual hybrid conference on 11-12 April, 2022 to launch and commemorate Uzbekistan’s participation in PISA 2022 …

“PISA launch event in Uzbekistan | Translation of PISA Assessments – the Gold Standard within reach of National Centers”

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village The 2021 edition of the ATP EdTech and Computational Psychometrics Summit (ECPS) took place virtually on December 8th and 9th, 2021. On December 8, in the course of a session titled “Developing Equitable and Fair Learning Products: A Discussion of Ethical AI in EdTech”, leaders …

“Developing Equitable and Fair Learning Products: A Discussion of Ethical AI in EdTech at the ATP EdTech and Computational Psychometrics Summit”

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village Why are women still underrepresented in many high-profile fields like finance and STEM? The reasons behind this are complex and may include gaps in education, lingering gender stereotypes, lack of role models, and concerns over work-life balance. Findings from a recent study titled “Decoding bias: …

“Recent research shows that the language used in job postings may be holding women back from work”

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village Francesca Borgonovi, from University College London, UK and Artur Pokropek, Educational Research Institute (IBE), Warsaw, Poland, take a broader perspective on socio-economic disparities in educational achievement and attainment a very well-researched study titled: “The evolution of socio-economic disparities in literacy skills from age 15 to …

“Recent study analyses the evolution of socio-economic disparities in literacy skills ages 15-27 in 20 countries”

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village In languages like Spanish, French and Italian people, objects, adjectives, and articles are either male or female. In English, the discussion around “gender neutral” language focuses on pronouns; in Romance languages it is more complicated, says poet, translator and academic Prof. Deborah J. Bennett. Prof. …

“Romance languages are rooted in a binary vision of the world: this poses challenges for educators seeking to create a more inclusive environment in the classroom”

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village “Edutopia Online” is produced by the George Lucas Education Foundation (GLEF), a nonprofit organization that documents and disseminates stories about best practices in K-12 public education. Edutopia has reviewed hundreds of educational studies carried out in 2020 and singled out 10 to be the most …

“Edutopia’s review of top 10 education studies in 2020 covers topics from virtual learning and racial bias in grading to impact of air pollution”

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village   Researchers and practitioners in the “Social and Emotional Learning” (SEL) field refer to intrapersonal and interpersonal characteristics as “social and emotional skills” (SE skills), while those in the personality psychology field refer to these as “personality traits.” These terms are often used interchangeably by …

“Are “social and emotional skills” and “personality traits” completely distinct, distinct yet similar, or one and the same?”

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, turned 20 on January 15. With its 55 milion articles in 300 languages it is the 13th most visited page on the web. Wikipedia entries are generally in the forefront of preliminary web research on almost any topic. The very feature …

“Wikipedia’s 20th anniversary revives debate about its reliability and the need for critical thinking skills in students”

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruption to schooling and it seems that it will be there for an undetermined period of time, at least pending availability of a vaccine. In the mean time online distance learning has become the “new normal” for many, posing …

“How to create an inclusive and engaged virtual classroom in the COVID-19 era”

by Pisana Ferrari – cApStAn Ambassador to the Global Village The debate about the gender gap in STEM education has come back to the forefront recently with the nomination of Emmanuelle Charpentier (France) and Jennifer Doudna (USA), for the 2020 Nobel prize in Chemistry, and Andrea Gehz (USA) for Physics. Three out of eight laureates …

“Can Nobel Prizes and other scientific awards further women’s progress in STEM fields?”