Verónica Floretta has had a diverse career in assessment - from the Head of English for a bilingual school based in Uruguay to an Associate Professor for a Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Assessment.
With a background in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Verónica also spends her time working as a Freelance Assessment Consultant.
“As an assessment consultant, mostly in the educational field, I am usually engaged in research regarding best practices in assessment for private regional stakeholders and national authorities.”
“I also contribute to fellow teachers in their professional development journey, through the design and delivery of workshops, seminars, institutional projects and articles, and as faculty in official teaching certifications, covering issues such as marking, formative assessment, curriculum design, validity/reliability and differentiated instruction.”
Crossing over to a global assessment network
In late 2018, I came across the Head of Assessment Training at Cambridge Assessment Network, Dr. Simon Child on LinkedIn. This was shortly after I finished my Master’s in Educational Assessment, and we connected over shared interests such as test validity.”
Despite her impressive expertise in assessment, Verónica felt that a closer connection to Cambridge would benefit her developing practice.
“In Uruguay, we work hand in hand with Cambridge Examinations. As a Head of a Department, I was keen to not only tap into the resources of Cambridge Examinations, but the incredible expertise available throughout the whole organisation.”
“In late 2018, I came across the Head of Assessment Training at Cambridge Assessment Network, Dr. Simon Child on LinkedIn. This was shortly after I finished my Master’s in Educational Assessment, and we connected over shared interests such as test validity. As a result of this connection, we had a face-to-face meeting in Cambridge in the summer of 2019 to discuss assessment practice and future collaboration opportunities. It was amazing to see that a lot of my own beliefs around assessment that I formed at home in Uruguay were reflected by Simon, and in the ethos of Cambridge Assessment Network.”
Accessing the Network
After her meeting with Simon, Verónica was quick to enrol in Cambridge Assessment Network courses and seminars to support her professional development. This included Understanding and Optimising your Mark Schemes and the pilot of A104: Psychometrics in Educational Assessment.
“I was really impressed by the quality of the courses and seminars offered by Cambridge Assessment Network. Sometimes people have low expectations of learning through online delivery, but the courses and seminars offered by the Network are a great example of why this thought process is wrong.”
“In courses such as A104, you will find a variety of activities such as a reflection journal, discussion forums, reading materials, tutorial videos, quizzes and practical activities. Each of these activities aims to develop your understanding of relevant issues (reliability, validity, fairness, etc). The content is well-paced and makes you reflect on the best ways to structure your assessment, so they ensure positive learning outcomes - not only in high-stakes testing but also in the classroom.”
“Due to my time spent completing Cambridge Assessment Network courses and seminars, I feel better prepared in both my consultancy work and in guiding my students through the many areas and nuances of assessment.”
Bridging the world
In 2022, Cambridge Assessment Network launched an Ambassador scheme to support their new membership community. Due to her unique skillset of educational assessment expertise in research and teaching, Verónica was asked to become one of the founding Ambassadors.
“I was so pleased when I was offered an opportunity to become an Ambassador. As an Ambassador, you get to guide assessment professionals around the world, and this unlocks a lot of new contacts and insights. Assessment in an educational context is not a fully developed field in Latin America, and although there are isolated efforts it’s still evolving. So, to be part of the epicentre of assessment through a global network is important to my professional development. Fundamentally, my relationship with the network is so vital as it allows me to access conversations and opportunities I may not be able to have in my own country.”
Even though the 200+ Members of Cambridge Assessment Network can be found across the globe, Verónica feels that the membership community brings them much closer together.
“One of the most impressive outcomes of membership is how we are all bound by one collective goal. Assessment. As practitioners, we have certain shared aims that we possess no matter the location or sector. I have been involved in both the teaching and research aspects of assessment, so I feel I can address the topic from many different angles.”
As an Ambassador, you get to guide assessment professionals around the world, and this unlocks a lot of new contacts and insights. Assessment in an educational context is not a fully developed field in Latin America, and although there are isolated efforts it’s still evolving. So, to be part of the epicentre of assessment through a global network is important to my professional development.”
“One of my key responsibilities is bringing forward discussions Members will be interested in. In my role, I see myself as a bridge mediating sources of knowledge and debate in the realm of assessment. Membership is such an incredible feature - it was not around when I first started accessing Cambridge Assessment Network courses, and it provides lots of wonderful insights and new information that you can harness. As a Member, you can develop on your own no matter your location – as the benefits are accessible anywhere. In Uruguay, it is very hard to study assessment. However, I can continue my growth thanks to the Network. Membership opens assessment to a range of international practitioners, and I’m so happy to support in whatever way I can as our community continues to grow.”
Developing an assessment career
Teachers should embrace assessment, as it’s a lighthouse that our whole practice should be guided by."
“I can’t speak enough about the recognition of being involved with Cambridge Assessment Network. I have support from Cambridge, and this means I have much more evidence of my expertise in my field. Due to this relationship, I have received many new and exciting opportunities. Recently, I got contacted by a fellow practitioner from Italy after sharing my links with Cambridge on social media, and now I’m part of an expert panel on educational assessment. As a Member or an Ambassador, you can start to open yourself up to a much wider global audience.”
“The courses offered continue to remain relevant to my development. The last course I took was Using assessment data to empower practice. The content of this course has been so useful to my day-to-day application of assessment in an educational setting. For example, I was recently contacted by some schools to help some of their teachers to better harness their result data, and I had all the learning from Using Assessment data to support this consultancy work.”
“In the education sector of Uruguay, assessment can sometimes have a stigma attached to it and it is not always focused on elevating students. I’m an advocate for the opposite approach. Teachers should embrace assessment, as it’s a lighthouse that our whole practice should be guided by. I plan everything by thinking about assessment and through it I undoubtedly serve my students better. We have some fantastic assessment professionals in Uruguay, with language being a barrier sometimes, I want this knowledge to be shared globally and not just in my country.”
“My ideal situation would be to work full-time in the assessment consultancy field. I have a real passion for contributing to colleagues and teachers through my expertise, and I feel like I have a lot of applicable knowledge to share. I try to apply everything I’ve learnt about assessment to my classroom and consultancy work, and my experience with Cambridge Assessment Network is a big part of this. I want to position myself as I’m a bridge between the assessment community in Uruguay and the rest of the global Cambridge Assessment Network. It’s so exciting to be connected to high-level assessment practice across the globe.”
“The membership scheme is a great opportunity to gain access to a lot of expertise from a lot of interesting and diverse fields. It’s also a fantastic avenue to collaborate and raise your profile as an assessment professional. Despite the different sectors involved, it’s all related to assessment practice, and you can gain so much by diving into new materials and concepts as part of a global assessment community.”
If you are interested in Cambridge Assessment Network membership, find out about the latest benefits here.