Dr. Ronald K. Hambleton
Recipient of the 2006 Division 5
Samuel J. Messick Award for
Distinguished Scientific
Contributions
Dr. Ronald K. Hambleton holds the title of Distinguished University
Professor and is Chairperson of the Research and Evaluation Methods
Program and Executive Director of the Center for Educational Assessment
at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He earned a B.A. in 1966
from the University of Waterloo in Canada with majors in mathematics
and psychology, and an M.A. in 1967 and Ph.D. in 1969 from the
University of Toronto with specialties in psychometric methods and
statistics. Professor Hambleton teaches graduate-level courses in
educational and psychological testing, item response theory and
applications, classical test theory models and methods, and offers
seminar courses on applied measurement topics. He is co-author of
several textbooks including Fundamentals of Item Response Theory, and
Item Response Theory: Principles and Applications (with H. Swaminathan
and H. Jane Rogers), and co-editor of several books including
International Perspectives on Academic Assessment (with Thomas
Oakland), Handbook of Modern Item Response Theory (with Wim van der
Linden), Computer-Based Testing and the Internet (with David Bartram)
and Adaptation of Educational and Psychological Tests for
Cross-Cultural Assessment (with Peter Merenda and Charles Spielberger).
His research interests are in the areas of item response model
applications to educational achievement and credentialing exams,
standard-setting, test adaptation methodology, score reporting, and
computer-based testing. He has received several honors and awards for
his more than 35 years of measurement research including honorary
doctorates from Umea University in Sweden and University of Oviedo in
Spain, the 1994 National Council on Measurement in Education Career
Award, 2003 Association of Test Publisher National Award for
Contributions to Computer-Based Testing, and the 2005 E. F. Lindquist
Award for Contributions to Assessment.
Dr. Stephen G. West
Recipient of the 2006 Division 5
Jacob Cohen Award for
Distinguished Contributions to Teaching and Mentoring
Dr. Stephen G. West (Ph.D, 1973, University of Texas at Austin) is
currently Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University
(ASU). He is the current editor of Psychological Methods and the
past editor of Journal of Personality. During his peripatetic career he
has held regular or visiting faculty positions at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison, Florida State University, University of Texas,
Austin, Duke University, University of Heidelberg (Germany), and UCLA.
He has received the ASU Psychology Department’s graduate faculty member
of year award as well as the ASU Graduate School’s outstanding graduate
mentor award. His methodological work is in experimental and
quasi-experimental research designs, multiple regression, structural
equation modeling, and longitudinal data analysis. His
substantive research is in the areas of personality and
prevention-related issues in health, mental health, and educational
contexts. He is a past winner of the Henry Murray award for
lifetime contributions to the study of lives from Division 8
(personality and social psychology). He is co-author of 12 books
and edited volumes including Multiple regression: Testing and
interpreting interactions (1991) and Applied multiple
regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences
(2003). He teaches the undergraduate introductory statistics
course and graduate courses in multiple regression, advanced regression
and statistical graphics, structural equation modeling, and
experimental and quasi-experimental designs. He is most proud of
the many graduate students with whom he has worked who have gone on to
teach graduate courses in research methods and statistics at major
universities.
Dr. Yanyan Sheng
Recipient of the 2006 Division 5 Distinguished Dissertation Award
Dr. Yanyan Sheng (Ph.D. 2005, University of Missouri-Columbia) is an
Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology &
Special Education at the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. She
is originally from China where she received a bachelors degree in
English from Anhui University in 1997. She entered the Educational
Psychology program at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2000 where
she earned a masters and doctoral degree in Educational Measurement and
Statistics. In 2004 Dr. Sheng earned a second masters degree from the
Statistics Department at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her
advanced studies in statistics led to her dissertation project titled
/Bayesian Analysis of Hierarchical IRT Models: Comparing and Combining
the Unidimensional and Multi-Unidimensional IRT Models/ which she
completed in 2005. Dr. Sheng joined the faculty in Measurement and
Statistics at SIUC in 2005. Her current program of research is focused
on psychometrics, IRT and Bayesian hierarchical models, multivariate
assessment, and adaptive testing.