Forthcoming Book Publication

Educational Assessment in a Changing World: Lessons Learned and the Path Ahead

Isabel Nisbet & Stuart Shaw

Drawing on examples from the UK, Europe, and USA, the book will dissect cultural, political, psychological and ideological ideas on society, education, and assessment, and foreground pressing issues relating to artificial intelligence, social justice, and climate change. Acknowledging its predominantly Western perspective and providing context on the evolution of educational assessment, the book will bridge the gap between theory and practice to progress debate and discourse on creating a culture of assessment fit for the future, rethinking strategies for the path ahead.

Ultimately, the book will provide insights and key takeaways for the field of educational assessment along with an evidence-based agenda that will be of relevance for education professionals, the assessment industry, and policy-makers interested in higher education, international and comparative education and testing.

The book will be published by Routledge in late summer.

Isabel Nisbet has held senior roles in the regulation of qualifications and assessment in the UK.

Stuart D. Shaw is Honorary Professor of University College London in the Institute of Education - Curriculum, Pedagogy & Assessment, UK; and is Chair of the Board of Trustees, Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors.

Early endorsements

What this book does it to engage with key issues that are not, on first sight, obviously linked to assessment and deftly interrogate how and why they should matter to all of us in education.  The authors admit to the somewhat daunting challenge of such a task and in doing so, provide a sound argument for seeking more than technical ‘solutions’ for how to manage the challenges in assessment.  Their approach is not to ignore pragmatic resolutions, but to use deep thinking, genuine reflection and a range of examples to interrogate the breadth and reach of assessment issues we currently face.   …….  Many of the recent debates around education are highly polarised and critics often take the easy route and present just two sides to each story.  This book presents ways we might move beyond a binary argument towards more nuanced ways of talking about education and assessment; let the debate begin.

Mary Richardson, Professor of Educational Assessment, IOE, Faculty of Education and Society, University College London.

This book helps us to move from anxiety about ‘what next?’ to a more considered understanding of ‘that’s why things are as they are’ which I for one hope leads to a greater sense of control over next steps: an accumulation of collective expertise in refining education rather than a buffeted reaction to vaguely framed worries and ill-informed futurology. ….. It is very demanding to write about broad sweeps of history and the specifics of things. It is even more demanding for practitioners and policy makers to hold this all in their heads simultaneously. But this book provides both the overview and the detail to support them in doing exactly that.

Tim Oates, CBE, Group Director – Research, Cambridge University Press & Assessment