Honorary Doctorate for Professor Jo-Anne Baird

On 15 October 2019, Professor Jo-Anne Baird was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Bergen, Norway in recognition of her work within the field of assessment in education.

An honorary doctorate is the highest honour the University of Bergen can award to people who are not employed at the university. These accolades are usually given to distinguished individuals for outstanding work or service in a particular field.

When presenting Professor Baird with her degree Bente Wold, Dean of the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Bergen commented:  “Jo-Anne’s work on standard setting practices has been highly influential to the process of setting examination standards in England and her recent landmark work extended the analysis to examination boards internationally showing that practices were highly conextualised…it’s an honour for us to welcome you and we are pleased that you have agreed to accept the token of our recognition and appreciation of your work.”

Jo-Anne Baird is Director of the Department of Education & Professor of Educational Assessment. Before coming to Oxford, Jo-Anne held academic posts at the Institute of Education, University of London and the University of Bristol. Jo-Anne previously held the position of Head of Research at the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, where she managed the research programme and was responsible for the standard-setting systems for public examinations. Her first degree and doctorate were in psychology and she has an MBA. In 2016, she was appointed adjunct professor at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, where she continues to collaborate on research at the university. You can find out more about her work and research here.

Read Professor Baird’s interview with the University of Bergen here: https://www.uib.no/en/psyfa/130158/educational-assessment-has-powerful-effect-upon-people’s-lives

Photo credit: Thor Brødreskift