Edynn Sato is the Director of Research and English Language Learner (ELL) Assessment in the Assessment and Standards Development Services (ASDS) program as well as the Director of Special Populations for the Assessment and Accountability Comprehensive Center (AACC) at WestEd. Her areas of focus include: large-scale, high-stakes test development for general education and special needs students; alignment and linkage studies; and research and consultation to states and other organizations related to the assessment and accountability of English language learners and students with disabilities.

Prior to joining WestEd, she worked in various academic, nonprofit, small for-profit, Fortune 500, and Internet-based organizations. Her previous roles include: lecturer in the College of Education at San Jose State University, teaching courses on assessment and evaluation as well as on the psychological foundations of education; Executive Editor at LeapFrog SchoolHouse, overseeing the content development of a technology-based, interactive product for students in grades K-5 that integrated formative assessment and differentiated instruction; Director of Education and Measurement at eSCORE.com, managing the development and implementation of online assessments and educational content for students in grades 2-8, as well as child development and motivation content for parents; Program Developer at SCORE! Education, creating educational products and programs targeting at-risk, urban students in grades K-12; Development Supervisor at CTB/McGraw-Hill, overseeing the development of several high-stakes statewide standardized assessments and their ancillary materials; and researcher at UCLA’s Center for the Study of Evaluation/CRESST, involved in various evaluation projects and the research and development of large-scale performance-based assessments in English, language arts and social studies, as well as assessments related to language development.

She also worked as a consultant in her own company, where her projects focused on product evaluation and assessment design and development.

She received her BA in multidisciplinary studies (elementary education) from Santa Clara University, and her MA and PhD in educational psychology from UCLA.