For the latest copy of the programme please download the attached document Updated ITC programme

Keynote speakers secured for the conference are opening keynote Colin Cooper, Neil Anderson, Ron Hambleton, Randy Bennett, John Fremer, Barbara Byrne, Kurt Geisinger, Robert Roe and John Hattie. Click on the name of each keynote to view their biography and title of they keynote talk.

Four general themes will be addressed at the conference:

1. Validity issues and practices: enhancing the validity (including face validity) and utility of tests
2. Scientific advances in testing: the use of different methodological approaches to enhance test development and validity
3. The emerging role of computers and the Internet: the use of computer-based and Internet-delivered tests and the impact on the public
4. Consequences of test use and test-taker rights: social policy contracts between professionals and the public

For more detail on themes please download the attached document Conference themes

Within the general themes, some specific issues will be expected to be considered:

Test-taker perceptions of testing - test-taker reactions, fairness perceptions, perceived justice and the impact on test outcomes and test design

Cheating and deception by test-takers and others involved in the testing process - intentional and unintentional distortion and cheating as well as security issues within testing (eg, transfer of test-taker data across countries)

Score reporting and feedback - appropriate and valid test score interpretations and communication of test scores to test-takers and other stakeholders

Advances in testing - advances in testing with respect to modelling of data (IRT, DIF, SEM), the use of computers and the Internet, new item types and new scoring approaches

Testing as an instrument of policy at state, national and international level - practical, ethical, professional and methodological issues with testing at a state, national and international level

Ethical testing and test-taker rights - testing standards and guidelines and how they impact on the quality of tests and testing internationally

Training the new test designers, developers and test users - the future of testing and policies that may help to identify, train and provide the test experts of the future

These and related issues will be considered in relation to test use in the areas of work, health, leisure and education.

We expect the conference to include the traditional mixture of keynote papers, individual papers, symposia, posters and workshops and to cover educational, work, leisure and health contexts. We also hope to organise a number of more interactive sessions, roundtable discussions and panels. We hope that presenters will not shy away from controversial topics or topics which focus on negative perceptions of tests. We are seeking a mix of practitioner-based input and presentations on relevant current research.