The ReDMIL 2026 doctoral summer school aims at contributing to the convergence between digital, media and information literacy research by bringing together researchers from all three communities to foster the scientific debate and explore connections between them. The summer school is an international training program that will alternate between framing presentations by senior researchers and the in-depth discussion of emerging research by participating PhD students.
Whose Values Count? Assessment as a Mirror of What We Prize in Media Literacy
By Renee Hobbs
Every assessment of a media literacy program answers one question but reveals another: what is valued by whom, and for what end? Policymakers use assessment to justify legislation and demonstrate public return. State departments of education use them to monitor compliance and guide instruction. Philanthropies use assessment to validate their investments. Academic researchers use assessment to advance theory and stimulate debate. Each stakeholder brings a distinct agenda, and that agenda quietly governs what gets measured, how, and to what end, long before any data are collected. Assessing media literacy competencies, skills, knowledge, and programs is not a neutral technical exercise but a reflection of competing values. Drawing on my own work, I walk through the full arc of an assessment: defining a goal, developing or selecting instruments, collecting data, and analyzing and presenting findings for specific audiences. At each stage, I show how seemingly methodological decisions are deeply value-laden, and how assessment can create opportunities to communicate "what counts" to the many stakeholders who are ultimately responsible for making media literacy education a reality.