Dr. Jo Anne Baird

Biography

Jo-Anne Baird is the Director of the Oxford University Centre for Educational Assessment at St Anne's College, having previously completed a six-year term as Head of the Department of Education. She has been a standing adviser to the House of Commons Education Select Committee and is a member of Ofqual’s Standing Advisory Group on Standards. She serves as the Chair of the National Reference Test Expert Group and has been involved with the Welsh Government’s Curriculum Assessment Group. With previous academic positions at the Institute of Education, University of London, and the University of Bristol, Baird holds a Doctorate in Psychology and an MBA. Her research projects include setting and maintaining standards for national examinations, examining the impact of modular versus linear examinations in GCSEs, and the Assessment for Learning Africa initiative. Her research interests focus on educational assessment, system-wide structures and processes, examination standards, and assessment design. Jo-Anne collaborates extensively with government and industry partners and is the Co-Lead Editor of the Oxford Review of Education. She has held visiting professor roles at the University of Bergen and Queen’s University Belfast and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bergen in 2019. From 2013 to 2015, she was the President of the Association for Educational Assessment – Europe.

Research Interests

Experience