Open Letter to the ITC Community

This letter first appeared on https://www.intestcom.org/page/5

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you are all enjoying a pleasant summer. We had a very successful ITC conference in Granada. Many thanks to the local organizing committee José -Luis Padilla, Isabel Benítez Baena and Luis Manuel Lozano. The conference was well attended, and it was great to see many of you there. At the end of the conference, I took on the role of President of the ITC International Test Commission . I am excited and honored! In this note, I am writing to outline my vision and priorities for our organization.

My history with ITC began in 2006 when Professor Ron Hambleton invited me to give a keynote at the Brussels conference. Since then, I have been an active member, benefiting from the learning opportunities, collaboration, and impact this organization delivers through its publications, guidelines, workshops, and conferences.

ITC's commitment to promoting equitable and innovative assessment methods worldwide has always resonated with my personal experiences and the issues in measurement that I care most about. A Turkish Cypriot educated in Turkish and English, I spent my 35-year research career studying validity and fairness in multilingual and multicultural contexts. In my current role as the leader of the ETS Research Institute , I oversee a team dedicated to driving positive societal impact through advancements in measurement science, championing personalization, cross-cultural comparability, and fairness in AI-based automated scoring. This background has prepared me for my mission at ITC.

I would like to thank our departing President, Stephen Sireci , for his outstanding leadership over the past two years. Under his guidance, ITC held an exceptional conference in Granada, published eight issues of our journal, hosted several international webinars and established two new committees. Steve's achievements and the hard work of our volunteers set a high bar for my own presidency.

As the world of testing and measurement evolves, it brings new opportunities to serve the international measurement community. During my presidency, I plan to focus on the following three areas:

1.? Membership. Our membership has been declining over the last four years, impacted by the pandemic and the absence of in-person conferences. I will work closely with the membership committee to attract new members, especially from the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, and to support our global community.

2. Engagement. It is crucial to keep our members engaged year-round, not just between conferences. In addition to our existing communication channels, such as our journal and newsletter, we should explore monthly webinars on regional issues and meet more frequently at regional conferences. Our annual conferences continue to play a crucial role in shaping the field, and one of my top priorities is to ensure that our next event in Auckland, NZ, is a success.

3. Impact. Measurement science faces critical challenges, including its role in advancing equity, fairness, and social justice. Even though the integration of AI into testing and measurement creates opportunities for innovations, challenges are magnified in international and multilingual contexts.

As the world's leading authority on the development, evaluation and use of educational and psychological tests, ITC is uniquely positioned to address these challenges. We have the power and responsibility to educate our audiences on topics such as cultural responsiveness, personalization, and responsible AI by offering guidelines, workshops, publications, and webinars.

I look forward to collaborating with our committees and members to grow our membership, enhance engagement, and tackle the critical issues facing our field. Please contact me with your ideas, thoughts and suggestions.

Only by working together can we make ITC stronger.

Sincerely,

Kadriye Ercikan