Linda Cook Appointed to Joint Committee on Revision of Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing

Linda Cook Appointed to Joint Committee on Revision of Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing Contact: Tom Ewing +1-(609) 683-2899 mediacontacts@ets.org Princeton, N.J. (October 8, 2008) — Linda Cook, Principal Research Scientist in the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Center for Validity Research, has been appointed to a joint committee charged with revising the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (the Standards), long considered to be the definitive source for information concerning sound test development and use. The appointment was announced recently by the American Psychological Association. Designed to establish criteria for appropriate development, use and interpretation of tests, the Standards have been widely cited by states, federal agencies, private organizations, legislative bodies and even the U.S. Supreme Court. They are based on the premise that effective testing and assessment requires test developers and users to be knowledgeable about validity, reliability and other measurement issues. Co-chairs of the Joint Committee for the Revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (Joint Committee) are Barbara Plake, Ph.D., distinguished professor emerita at the University of Nebraska, and Lauress Wise, Ph.D., principal scientist at the Human Resources Research Organization, Monterey, Calif. They, along with 13 additional members, are charged with revising and updating the Standards to reflect current research and best practices. “This appointment reflects the high regard the measurement profession has for Linda’s outstanding work in ensuring fairness, validity and accessibility of assessments for all students,” says Cathy Wendler, Senior Research Director at ETS. “She has led many important initiatives at ETS including technical work on the College Board’s new SAT® and PSAT/NMSQT®, as well as the introduction of the re-centered SAT scale. In her former position as Vice President of the Assessment Division, she was responsible for designing and implementing a new Test Creation Process at ETS. Her cutting-edge research also has improved the quality of assessments everywhere.” According to Wise, “The Standards are more important than ever given the current demand for educational accountability, the increase of testing in the workplace and the popularity of computer-based testing.” “We believe that we have assembled the right committee to achieve the goal of bringing the Standards up to date,” says Plake. Revision of the Standards will continue a long collaboration among the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association and the National Council on Measurement in Education. The three associations have been responsible for developing, publishing, selling and revising the Standards since 1966, when the first edition was published. The Standards were revised in 1974, 1985 and 1999. The popularity of the Standards remains strong to this day, with nearly one million copies sold since 1985. The Joint Committee plans to hold its initial meeting in early 2009. Staff support for the committee will be provided by the American Psychological Association; questions about the committee and its work should be addressed to Marianne Ernesto at mernesto@apa.org. Members of the Joint Committee are: * Barbara Plake, Ph.D., Co-Chair Distinguished Professor Emerita University of Nebraska * Lauress (Laurie) Wise, Ph.D., Co-Chair Human Resources Research Organization * Linda Cook, Ed.D. Educational Testing Service * Fritz Drasgow, Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign * Brian Gong, Ph.D. The National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment Inc. * Laura Hamilton, Ph.D. RAND Corp. * Jo-Ida Hansen, Ph.D. University of Minnesota * Joan Herman, Ed.D. University of California, Los Angeles * Michael Kane, Ph.D. National Conference of Bar Examiners * Michael Kolen, Ph.D. University of Iowa * Antonio Puente, Ph.D. University of North Carolina Wilmington * Paul Sackett, Ph.D. University of Minnesota * Nancy Tippins, Ph.D. Valtera Corp. * Walter (Denny) Way, Ph.D. Pearson * Frank C. Worrell, Ph.D. University of California Berkeley The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA’s membership includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession, and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare. The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the national interdisciplinary research association for approximately 26,000 scholars who undertake research in education. Founded in 1916, AERA aims to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. The National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) is a professional organization for individuals involved in assessment, evaluation, testing and other aspects of educational measurement. Members are involved in the construction and use of standardized tests; new forms of assessment, including performance-based assessment; program design; and program evaluation. NCME members include university faculty; test developers; state and federal testing and research directors; professional evaluators; testing specialists in business, industry, education, community programs and other professions; licensure, certification and credentialing professionals; graduate students from educational, psychological and other measurement programs; and others involved in testing issues and practices. About ETS ETS is a nonprofit institution with the mission to advance quality and equity in education by providing fair and valid assessments, research and related services for all people worldwide. In serving individuals, educational institutions and government agencies around the world, ETS customizes solutions to meet the need for teacher professional development products and services, classroom and end-of-course assessments, and research-based teaching and learning tools. Founded in 1947, ETS today develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide.