Holistic Assessment SIG

To succeed in the modern society, including in the workplace, young people need to complete their education with more than the academic knowledge, skills and understanding assessed in traditional school subjects. They need a broad range of 21st-century competencies coupled with other personal attributes such as solid ethical values, positive learning dispositions, and high levels of personal wellbeing. This is the concept of holistic education, which has a deep-rooted history in several European pedagogical philosophies. Both cognitive skills (such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity) and so-called ‘non-cognitive’ skills (such as communication, collaboration, and perseverance) are important. Assessing personal competencies and attributes accurately, and understanding how they interact to affect educational outcomes and life chances, are significant challenges in the assessment field. Despite its importance, however, holistic assessment is still an under-researched area. This SIG aims to study theories and practices for assessing cognitive and non-cognitive skills and attributes, and provide recommendations for effective assessment tools.

When joining the SIG, your email address may be shared with the SIG Steering Group to facilitate communication with you.

Holistic Assessment SIG Steering Group:

holisticassessment.sig@aea-europe.net

Gulbakhyt Sultanova, Center for Pedagogical Measurements, NIS, Kazakhstan (Chair)

Aliya Assylbekova, Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools, Kazakhstan

Georgina Billings, University of Cambridge, UK

Carolyn Hutchinson, University of Glasgow, UK

Laura Katkeviča, University of Latvia, Latvia

Milagrosa Sánchez-Martín, Loyola University Andalusia, Spain

Stuart Shaw, Institute of Education, University College London, UK

Irenka Suto, Cambridge University Press and Assessment, UK

Tim Oates, Cambridge University Press and Assessment, UK

Holistic Assessment SIG position paper

Building Holistic Systems for Educational Improvement: From Curriculum to Pedagogy to Assessment Principles

A position paper by Carolyn Hutchinson, Irenka Suto, Stuart Shaw, Tim Oates and Gulbakhyt Sultanova

This position paper, developed by members of AEA-Europe’s Holistic Assessment Special Interest Group (SIG), explores how curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment can be coherently aligned to support truly holistic education. It argues that educational systems should nurture the full development of learners — cognitive, social, emotional, and ethical — and not merely focus on disciplinary knowledge and skills.

The paper invites readers to reflect on how transversal skills such as creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and self-regulation can be meaningfully embedded and assessed across learning systems. By linking curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment, the authors propose principles for designing educational practices that improve both individual and societal outcomes.

Members of the AEA-Europe community and other interested readers are warmly invited to share comments, questions, or examples of practice with the Holistic Assessment SIG. Responses can be submitted via the SIG’s dedicated email address: holisticassessment.sig@aea-europe.net

Position Paper

Special Interest Groups & Networks

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