It is an immense pleasure to serve as the founding director of the Evidence-based Research Center for Educational Assessment (ERCEA) at Jiangsu University, China.

The organization was established in 2020 to enhance the scope of educational assessment research activities under the name of the “Research Institute for Educational Assessment and Research Methodology” (RIEARM) within the School of Teacher Education at Jiangsu University. In December 2021, it was further upgraded to a university-level interdisciplinary assessment and research organization with the current name of ERCEA. It aims to strengthen and advance standard-based assessment and evidence-based research across disciplines.

The overall mission of the ERCEA is to conduct standard-based assessment and evidence-based research and propose implications for professionals and organizations. Furthermore, it prepares graduates and postdoctoral researchers as assessment specialists, testing and evaluation experts, research scientists, and university faculty members. Finally, it provides government agencies, professional organizations, and individual researchers, including students, with resources and services through research projects, research conferences, and training workshops.

The ERCEA aims to build national and international partnerships. The leading assessment and research in our center will be further strengthened by our participation in national and international collaborations. This also provides opportunities for our graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members to participate in national and international networks.

Today, the ERCEA can make critical contributions to the advancement of standard-based assessment and evidence-based research in China. This center will become a role model and game-changer in developing the education sector in China.

Jinyan Huang, Ph.D.

Jinshan Distinguished Professor
Director of the ERCEA
Jiangsu University, China