Website: Testing and Evaluation Services
Personal Biography
I am a Professor in the Quantitative Methods area within the Educational Psychology Department. I also serve as the Director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Testing and Evaluation Services (T&E) and the UW System Center for Placement Testing. As Director, I oversee all aspects of T&E and the Center, set strategic directions, develop and monitor budgets, evaluate programming and personnel, maintain an active research program.
Research Interests
My scholarly efforts focus on applied issues in educational measurement and testing. At some level, the problems I have studied all relate to improving the validity and interpretability of test scores. Most of my recent research has centered on aspects of test security, and most specifically, detection of cheating on tests. I conduct studies developing and evaluating a variety of statistical methodologies for detecting answer copying, item preknowledge, and test tampering. I also focus on developing best practices for conducting, implementing, and reporting on security analyses.
Teaching Interests
Every semester, I teach a research seminar course for the Educational Psychology Department, aimed at exposing doctoral students in quantitative methods to current research and to discuss any design issues, possible extensions, and practical or theoretical implications of the research. In addition, I lead numerous workshops throughout the year to UW-Madison faculty, instructional staff, and TAs on topics such as test construction, grading, and assessment. I was elected as a Fellow in the University of Wisconsin Teaching Academy in 2005.
Awards and Honors
Departmental Service
- Learning Sciences Search Committee
Dates of Membership: 2012 – 2013 Committee Member. Period of Service: 2012 – 2013
- Quantitative Methods Search Committee
Dates of Membership: 2009 – 2010 Committee Member. Period of Service: 2009 – 2010
School Service
- Administrative Council Dates of Membership: 2007 – Pres.
- Education Research Institutional Review Board Dates of Membership: 2003 – 2010
Public Service
- Conference on the Statistical Detection of Test Fraud
Dates of Membership: 2012 – Pres.
- Member of Executive Committee. Period of Service: 2012 – Pres.
- Program Organizer. Period of Service: 2013 – 2013
- National College Testing Association
Dates of Membership: 2012 – Pres.
- Board Member. Period of Service: 2013 – Pres.
- Co-Chair, Professional Development Division. Period of Service: 2012 – Pres.
- Program Organizer. Period of Service: 2012 – Pres.
- Editor, Journal Editor. Period of Service: 2011 – Pres.
- Co-Chair, Association of Test Publishers and National College Testing Association Joint Committee on Proctoring Best Practices. Period of Service: 2014 – 2015
- Wisconsin College Readiness Partnership Core Team
Dates of Membership: 2012 – Pres.
- Member. Period of Service: 2012 – Pres.
- Common Core State Standards Implementation
Dates of Membership: 2011 – 2016
- Higher Education Lead for Wisconsin. Period of Service: 2011 – 2016
- Federation of State Board of Physical Therapy
Dates of Membership: 2010 – Pres.
- Technical Advisory Panel. Period of Service: 2010 – Pres.
- Measurement Services Special Interest Group of AERA
Dates of Membership: 2008 – 2011
- Officer, President/Elect/Past. Period of Service: 2008 – 2011
- Wisconsin State Department of Public Instruction Next Generation of Assessments Task Force
Dates of Membership: 2008 – 2009
- Committee Member. Period of Service: 2008 – 2009
- Applied Psychological Measurement
Dates of Membership: 2005 – 2008
- Editorial Review Board Member. Period of Service: 2005 – 2008
- National Council on Measurement in Education
Dates of Membership: 2003 – Pres.
- Board Member. Period of Service: 2011 – 2014
- Chair, Elections Committee. Period of Service: 2014 – Pres.
- Chair, Training and Professional Development Committee. Period of Service: 2004 – 2005
- Member, Training and Professional Development Committee. Period of Service: 2003 – 2005
- Chair, Review Panel on Operational Psychometrics. Period of Service: 2013 – 2013
- Member, Committee on Test Score Integrity. Period of Service: 2011 – 2012
- Wisconsin State Department of Public Instruction Elementary and Secondary Education Act Testing Advisory Committee
Dates of Membership: 2003 – 2009
- Committee Member. Period of Service: 2003 – 2009
Education
PhD, Degree awarded in Educational Psychology; Minor in Statistics, Educational and Psychological Measurement
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Madison, WI
MS, Degree awarded in Educational Psychology, Educational and Psychological Measurement
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Madison, WI
BS, Degree awarded with Honors in Psychology, Honoris Causa
University of California at Davis
