Volume 22: No. 9, October 2008

Joint Committee Named to Revise Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing
by Marianne Ernesto

A committee of researchers and experts in educational and psychological testing has been appointed to revise the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (the Standards) - long considered to be the definitive source for information concerning sound test development and use.

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, PhD, distinguished professor emerita at the University of Nebraska, and Lauress Wise, PhD, principal scientist at the Human Resources Research Organization, Monterey, CA. They, along with 13 additional members, are charged with revising and updating the Standards to reflect current research and best practices.

“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” according to Dr. Wise. “We believe that we have assembled the right committee to achieve the goal of bringing the Standards up to date” said Dr. 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 via email.

Members of the Joint Committee for the Revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing are:

Barbara Plake, PhD, Co-Chair
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
University of Nebraska

Lauress (Laurie) Wise, PhD, Co-Chair
Human Resources Research Organization

Linda Cook, EdD
Educational Testing Service

Fritz Drasgow, PhD
University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign

Brian Gong, PhD
The National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment Inc.

Laura Hamilton, PhD
RAND Corp.

Jo Ida Hansen, PhD
University of Minnesota

Joan Herman, EdD
University of California-Los Angeles

Michael Kane, PhD
National Conference of Bar Examiners

Michael Kolen, PhD
University of Iowa

Antonio Puente, PhD
University of North Carolina-Wilmington

Paul Sackett, PhD
University of Minnesota

Nancy Tippins, PhD
Valtera Corp.

Walter (Denny) Way, PhD
Pearson

Frank C. Worrell, PhD
University of California-Berkeley