:: Message from the President

Driven to make a difference in the field dominated for a long time by measurement tools crafted abroad, CEM, with the support of member schools, moved gradually to become the premier non government, nonprofit organization for educational assessment and research.

CEM led the movement to develop local standardized tests to measure achievements of Filipino students. It has a complement of instructional and advisory programs designed to augment a school's agenda for professional development.

Our task is not easy. Creating tests is a long, tedious and expensive process. And tests are never really "done". They, too, have a long life, but only if they are well crafted and properly maintained. The so-called "goodness" of our tests continues to be challenged.

Because the stakes in the assessment are high, we protect the integrity of our tests. We uphold the standards of the testing profession, assuring our schools of the best in measurement practice. We believe that assessment should support teaching and learning. And we aim high to make sure that we bring to the classroom solid and defensible testing tools, with no claims beyond what they can fairly assess.

CEM is the mirror to the school. It captures visions and images of what the school is like at a given time, it reveals how the school changes as it carries out its task of educating students. But the mirror is more than a metaphor. It speaks of how the school is doing its job; it is another view on policy and practice; it is an external account of an inside story.

The future will see CEM playing a more active role in educational assessment. It will be more vocal about its position on assessment issues. It will help build a storehouse of knowledge on assessment, refine that knowledge, and use that knowledge in aid of educational reform. It will expand its intellectual and technical capabilities to become a central resource for educational researchers, practitioners, policy makers, teachers, students and the public.

In the years to come, CEM's success will be judged against the standards of the profession and by the trust bestowed on us by the educational community. More importantly, we will be valued for the kind of information we provide, for the breadth and depth of the knowledge we can help schools create about themselves, for their story we can help them tell, so they and their public may know if, and where, they make a difference.

Schools call for excellence. Students, parents and teachers call for excellence. The nation calls for excellence. CEM will rise to the challenge.

Dr. Lenore De La Llana-Decenteceo
President