Hosted by the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board, the conference had representatives from 24 countries presenting papers and facilitating discussions under the conference theme "Assessment in an Era of Rapid Change: Innovations and Best Practices". The Center for Educational Measurement, whose delegation was led by its President, Dr. Lenore Decenteceo, and Dr. James Tan, Board Trustee, is the only registered IAEA member from the Phwvilippines.

Ms. Ma. Angeles Sampang and Mr. Jason Moseros of the CEM Test Development Unit presented a paper entitled "Redesigning the CEM Mathematics Diagnostic Tests as Developmental Assessment Instruments". Adopted from the system used by the Australian Council for Educational Research, the new design includes progress maps, which show a learner’s skills and knowledge along a typical sequence of development as he moves within one grade level, and from a lower to a higher level. The redesigned CEM diagnostic tests then produce results which can clearly trace the student’s progress in the subject.

In their paper, Mr. Jesus Sevilla, Jr. and Ms. Kathryn Tan of the CEM Research Unit made a presentation on "Identifying Patterns of Skills Acquisition in Elementary Mathematics among a Cohort Group of Pupils: Implications to Teaching and Learning". This study showed how test results can help identify patterns of skills that differentiate between good and poor performers in elementary mathematics. CEM identified good and poor performers in mathematics based on the cumulative performance scores of 1,347 pupils tested consecutively for six school years. Discussion was focused on the area of fractions, and the use of item analysis procedures. Findings of the study are used to guide educators in programming mathematical strategies in their schools.

The presentations made by CEM to the international community of educators and assessment experts demonstrate its solid commitment to promote educational excellence. Using knowledge acquired over the past 27 years as the pioneer in educational research and assessment in the Philippines, CEM seeks to aid educational reform by improving the process of learning and measuring growth. Its network of 3 branches and 19 testing centers all over the country expertly serves more than 1,000 schools, through locally-developed tests that align assessment to competency development.