President’s Message – July 2026

Dear NCME Colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well and that the summer months are offering each of you some time for rest, renewal, and connection with family, friends, and colleagues. I am writing from New Zealand, where we have just completed a very successful International Test Commission conference on the theme “Testing for Good: Using Tests to Benefit Individuals and Society.”

The conference brought together participants from more than 30 countries for timely and important discussions across educational, psychological, and clinical measurement, with a particular focus on international issues. It was inspiring to hear the range of perspectives represented and to see how colleagues across contexts are engaging with common challenges related to validity, fairness, quality, and the appropriate use of assessments. I also had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful colleagues and am looking forward to developing joint projects and continued collaborations with several of them.

In my ITC Presidential Keynote, I reflected on the need for a paradigm shift in measurement in the AI era. I discussed how AI is reshaping assessment through innovations such as more interactive and simulation-based tasks, personalization, richer process data, and feedback that can better support learning, while also emphasizing that these developments require rigorous evaluation of validity, fairness, and consequences and expansion of these central concepts of measurement. My central message was that the field must develop the concepts, evidence, and standards needed to shape the future of AI-integrated assessment responsibly.

Speaking of conferences, the call for proposals for the 2027 NCME Annual Meeting has just been released. The conference theme will be “Moving Educational Measurement Forward in Dynamically Changing Technological and Societal Contexts.” This theme reflects both the opportunities and responsibilities facing our field as technological advances, changing educational needs, and broader societal shifts continue to reshape the contexts in which measurement is developed and used.

The call for proposals includes a wide range of examples of priority topics, and I encourage all members to begin thinking now about possible paper, symposium, poster, and workshop submissions. The Annual Meeting is one of the most important ways NCME brings together researchers, practitioners, students, policymakers, and partners to advance rigorous and socially meaningful measurement work. I hope the 2027 meeting will provide many opportunities for us to share new research, examine emerging practices, and engage in the kinds of dialogue that help move the field forward.

I am also very pleased to share that we are adding a virtual participation option this year. This is an important step toward giving members greater flexibility to attend and participate, and toward broadening access for colleagues who may not be able to join us in person. I hope this option will support wider engagement across our membership and strengthen NCME’s role as an inclusive professional home for the educational measurement community.

As always, NCME’s strength comes from the expertise, energy, and commitment of its members. I am grateful for the many ways you contribute to our conferences, committees, SIGIMIEs, publications, and professional community, and I look forward to seeing the ideas and proposals that will shape our 2027 Annual Meeting. In the meantime, I hope you are able to enjoy some restorative summer days, wherever this season finds you.

Thanks,
Kadriye