PhD MathEd student receives Best Scientific Paper award in NCEME 2024

Mark Lester B Garcia, a PhD Mathematics Education student, is one of the recipients of the Best Scientific Paper award at the National Conference on Educational Measurement and Evaluation (NCEME) 2024 for his paper entitled "Leveraging International Large-Scale Assessments: Insights from an Item-Writing Professional Development Program for High School Mathematics Teachers." This paper is co-authored by his dissertation adviser, Dr Catherine P Vistro-Yu.

Held on 29 August to 31 August 2024 at De La Salle University, Manila and organized by the Philippine Educational Measurement and Evaluation Association (PEMEA), NCEME 2024 aims to bring together various educational stakeholders to discuss issues and propose solutions related to educational assessment at the national level. In line with this year's theme, "Assessment Innovations: Initiatives for Education Reform in the Philippines," the keynote speeches and panel discussions were about the dissemination of research findings and recommendations geared towards education reform, particularly in the planning and implementation of assessments, with emphasis on those from the report of the Second Congressional Commission on Education. The conference was attended by 220 in-person participants and 100 online participants. Seven, out of 45 accepted papers, were named Best Scientific Paper during the awarding ceremony. 

As a PhD MathEd student, Garcia believes in the importance of being cognizant of the broader societal issues, significant research studies, as well as national policies and legislation that may have direct or indirect effects to both teaching and assessment practices down to the classroom level. Attending NCEME 2024 also provided him critical updates about the imminent trends in educational assessment, such as the increased importance of embracing international education standards promoted by International Large-Scale Assessments such as PISA and TIMSS, and the movement towards the incorporation of advanced assessment strategies such as those in adaptive learning. 

Garcia is grateful to the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Research, Creative Work, and Innovation, the School of Science and Engineering, and the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Graduate Education for supporting his participation in the NCEME 2024.