From psychology in Mexico to educational assessment in Norway
Mario came to Norway from Mexico to study at the Centre for Educational Measurement (CEMO) at the University of Oslo. He is currently on his third semester of a Master’s in Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation (AME).
Before coming to Oslo, Mario studied psychology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where he specialised in educational psychology.
– I am interested in education as a whole, and particularly in what we can do to improve the overall outcome of education. I think a lot of effort should be put into improving how well we educate the next generation.
I am confident that education is the most important job in the world.
Mario discovered the field of educational assessment and evaluation during his bachelor’s degree. That’s when he came across some papers from researchers at CEMO.
– I looked into CEMO and I really liked the AME programme. I wanted to come here because it is a great research centre within this field.
Assessing the outcome of education
Mario explains that the AME programme teaches students about what’s behind a survey like an exam, and what kind of information you can get from both small evaluations to large scale international assessments.
– I’ve heard people say that “education is the problem”, but this is too broad. You have to know exactly what it is about the education that is wrong. In order to find that out, you have to start measuring.
– When you go to the doctor, they take tests to find out what is wrong. It’s the same here: assessment allows you to take a photo of the current state of something. It could be how well people learn or how much they know about mathematics or geography, then that information can be used to make evidence-based decisions on how to facilitate change.
Mario uses what is called ‘multiverse analysis’ in his dissertation. This method says that you should try your main analysis in different ways – in different multiverses. This could mean running multiple analyses changing one variable slightly for each run-through.
– You run a whole multiverse analysis, and check if the results you get in the original study hold in every multiverse analysis. This is a way to see how robust your research is.
What is the topic of your dissertation?
– I am exploring how the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and educational achievement changes, depending on how SES is defined.
– I come from a family of teachers, and everyone says that the more money you have, the better you’ll do in school. This is such a big claim, and I want to check if that’s the variable that explains how well a child learns.
To study the implications of SES on learning, researchers must decide what the indicators of SES are, Mario explains. One famous indicator is the “books at home” measurement. This says that the number of books in a child’s home, measures their SES. But there are other home resources too, which could be used to indicate SES, such as if the child has their own room, laptop, phone, internet access, etc. The indicators researchers choose, can have implications for the results of the study.
– What I plan to do is to check how the relationship between high SES and higher achievement would change, if we change the indicators of for instance having your own room and internet access, or having your own cell phone, or having a computer.
What is your favourite aspect of the AME programme?
– Firstly, the quality of the teaching. I had really high expectations for the programme, and when I came here, I realized that the structure and the quality of the lectures and the knowledge that the teachers have, is just amazing.
– Secondly, the community. I’m lucky to be in an international master’s programme. Being surrounded by other international students just like me, who literally just came for the programme, really helped me build friendships and feel comfortable in Norway.
I wouldn’t be able to stay on my programme and be as happy as I am here, if it wasn’t for the friends I’ve made.
What are your plans after you finish your degree?
– To be honest I fell in love with Norway, and I would love to stay here and work in research going more in depth about how we can use educational measurement to guide policy.
– I would also love to work in a large organisation and see how a big assessment is made and finalized.
– Eventually, I would like to go into educational policy, maybe in Mexico or another place, to actually be part of the decision making.
Do you have any tips for new students?
– I would say that one of the key components is friends. Studying is not only about receiving information, it’s also about building friendships, building contacts, building a network.
– I believe one of the best things you can do is to study together and talk with people. Not just academic talk in a classroom but having a beer with your classmates and talk about the things you are studying.
– I think that’s the best way to both learn and to enjoy the university. It’s all about the sense of friends and community around you. This will help you keep learning and keep improving.
You can find out more about the Master's in Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation programme on UiOs website.