The first Standard-based Assessment and Evidence-based Research (SAER) International Conference was held at Jiangsu University from October 21 to 23. More than 50 experts and scholars from 33 universities and enterprises at home and abroad participated in the conference through a combination of online and offline methods. The conference was organized by Jiangsu University and co-hosted by the Department of Planning and Development, School of Teacher Education, and the Evidence-based Research Center for Educational Assessment (ERCEA).

The opening ceremony of the conference was held in the second lecture Hall of the Conference Center of Jiangsu University. Lixin Tian, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and vice president of the University, Wei Xu, Director of the Department of Planning and Development, Jiajia Wang, Dean of the School of Teacher Education, Guihong Xu, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Development, teachers and students from the Institute of Higher Education and the School of Teacher Education of Jiangsu University attended the opening ceremony. First of all, President Tian welcomed the participants and introduced the University. President Tian pointed out the importance of educational assessment in the reform and development of higher education, and fully affirmed the significance and contribution of this international conference to the development and application of educational assessment theory, and method and technology. Later, Wei Xu, Director of the Department of Planning and Development, said that the theory and practice of educational assessment are of great significance in the innovation of academic knowledge and the service of university development strategy and internal governance reform. Jiajia Wang, Dean of the School of Teacher Education, hoped that this conference could help promote the development of educational assessment methods, transform educational research into application, and enhance the international cooperation and exchange between the Research Center and the School of Teacher Education.

Professor Jinyan Huang, Director of the ERCEA at Jiangsu University, Professor John Spiridakis, department chairperson and professor at the School of Education, St. John’s University, and Professor Alan Cheung, department chairperson and professor at the Faculty of Education, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, delivered keynote speeches on the theme of “collaborating for change in assessment and research”. The significance and cases of assessment and evidence-based research in the field of education were introduced and shared. The conference also included five presentation sessions at two parallel conference rooms; 44 researchers from around the globe delivered presentations on “assessment, testing, measurement, and evaluation” and “quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research methods”. Professor Yingliang Liu from Wuhan University of Technology and Professor Lingqi Meng from Qufu Normal University served as the review experts and discussants of these presentations.

Through keynote speeches and individual presentations, this conference provided researchers and students in the field of education with multiple perspectives and methods in conducting evidence-based educational research. The experts and scholars also expressed their hope to further strengthen the cooperation between universities and enterprises to jointly promote the reform of assessment and research.