The International Objective Measurement Workshop (IOMW) 2023 Conference will be held in Chicago on April 11 and 12, just before the AERA/NCME annual conferences, with a possible additional half-day of workshops on April 10. The conference will take place at the American Dental Association building, located at 211 E Chicago Ave., and is a short walk from the AERA/NCME headquarters hotels.  IOMW presents an opportunity for scholars interested in the theory and practice of objective measurement in the human sciences to present research, learn about the most recent developments, and meet with colleagues who share similar interests in an intimate setting.

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There will be two exciting keynote speakers: Derek Briggs will talk about his recent book on the history of educational measurement and will comment on the links to Rasch models. Another keynote speaker will be Kirk Becker, who will talk about automatic item generation. 

The deadline for submitting proposals is January 16, 2023, and details about the submission of paper and symposium proposals (and conference registration) are available here. We are very interested in promoting conversations and dialogues, and hence, we are accepting individual paper presentations to be delivered in a round-table format. We will also accept symposia proposals that encourage discussions and debate. We invite both theoretically-focused and applied papers. Examples of themes we are particularly excited about include (but not limited to):

Measurement and Technology. Sources and types of data have expanded beyond traditional responses to fixed survey questions.  With advances in technology have come dramatic increases in the size and scope of data, and in access to it. We invite papers that incorporate data from novel sources, that advance measurement methodology for such data or that reflect critically on measurement theory and practice in the era of big data.

Applications and modeling. The IOMW provides opportunities to share evolving and ongoing work relevant to the practice of objective measurement, broadly defined. We invite papers that allow you to share work (including work in progress) and get feedback from colleagues in the IOMW community. Our goal is to keep up to date with the latest advances in the application of objective measurement.

Conversations across disciplines and traditions. Objective measurement is a critical component of scientific inquiry in many areas, including but not limited to the areas of public health, the medical sciences, counseling, the biological sciences, psychology, education, economics, and sociology. Papers likely to stimulate cross-disciplinary perspectives on measurement are especially welcome.

Change over time, place, and context. On the one hand, invariance is a critical concept in objective measurement; on the other hand, measures are often applied to highly dynamic systems (e.g., human beings) that change over time and context. This is particularly visible in contemporary debates about the assessment of learning and "growth". We welcome papers on related topics including but not limited to vertical scaling, measurement invariance (of any form), and longitudinal models. 

Foundations of measurement. IOMW scholars are committed to examining foundational measurement concepts, including philosophical debates, and the conditions that maximize the validity, reliability, and utility of measures. We welcome conceptual, theoretical, historical and/or comparative papers that help us to understand better what is at stake in the development, use, and discussion of measures.

Great news for graduate student and early-career attendees: IOMW is continuing to facilitate a mentoring program that pairs early-career researchers with seasoned scholars.