DATA IN ACTION
Originally published in 1999, the standards were essentially defined by the methods and procedures used in TIMSS 1995, a state-of-the-art international large-scale assessment representing current best practice in the field.
on the international center has grown with the need to deploy and support highly complex software systems to implement the new technology. • But changes can also be observed elsewhere. Access to schools has been more formalized in some countries; data protection is much more important than before. Finally, it is noticeable that activities are increasingly being outsourced at the national level, which requires complete and clear communication of all requirements and quality control procedures are becoming crucial. To update the technical standards in the light of these and other developments, IEA invited experts in the various areas of international large-scale assessment to suggest revisions and extensions as necessary. An editorial committee consisting of Mick Martin, Julian Fraillon, and Heiko Sibberns revised the submissions to ensure that they were consistent and coherent in terms of language and content and that all issues were addressed. The result was submitted to the Executive Director for initial comments, was then reviewed by external reviewers, and is due to be published toward the end of this year. ■
To support this transition, integrated systems with an item authoring tool, translation module, test assembly module, test delivery system, and scoring system had to be developed or purchased from assessment system providers. New item formats requiring greater interaction to promote student engagement have been developed and implemented. The same applies to new data formats: with the help of process data, the students' test processing can now be recorded in much more detail and more completely. • More recently, increased access to powerful artificial intelligence tools has brought the promise of exciting opportunities in terms of improved instrument development and response scoring, while posing challenges in how to best to deploy these tools in a responsible manner. • The move to digital assessment has necessitated a rebalancing of responsibilities between national and international centers. National centers now enjoy efficiencies in terms of reduced printing and data entry costs, although with greater technological demands for school-based data collection. Meanwhile, the burden
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