Join WestEd staff at the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) Annual Meeting, April 11–14, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The theme for this year’s conference, Reconceptualizing Measurement Theory and Practice to Reduce Inequities, aligns with the research focus of WestEd’s Assessment Research and Innovation (ARI) team.

“When students see themselves and their cultures reflected in assessments, it not only fosters a sense of belonging but also enhances engagement, supporting measurement of knowledge and skills without bias,” says Sarah Quesen, Director of ARI. “At WestEd, our assessment researchers and psychometricians are dedicated to promoting fairness in assessments. We are thrilled that so many members of our team will share their research findings at NCME this year.”

WestEd assessment researchers will take part in nine different sessions. The presentations will describe WestEd’s work developing culturally relevant and sustaining assessments; discuss the impact of artificial intelligence on performance assessment; share the latest assessment research and its implications for assessment design and implementation; consider options for measuring social and emotional learning; and suggest ways to make score reports as engaging and instructionally relevant as possible for students, parents, and teachers.

“Everything we do at WestEd is grounded in rigorous research,” notes Andrew Latham, Vice President of Science and Assessment. “I’m proud of the depth, breadth, relevance, and impact of the research we are conducting through our ARI team. Their research enables us to develop innovative solutions and practical insights for our clients and to serve as a trusted partner for them as we strive to drive excellence and equity through fair, valid, useful, and culturally responsive assessments.”

“When students see themselves and their cultures reflected in assessments, it not only fosters a sense of belonging but also enhances engagement, supporting measurement of knowledge and skills without bias,” says Sarah Quesen, Director of ARI

In addition to these research presentations, WestEd will be hosting a reception for all conference attendees at the Sonesta Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square Hotel from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, April 12.

We hope you can join us at our reception, check out our booth (#520) in the exhibition hall, and attend some of our sessions to learn more about our groundbreaking assessment work.

Friday, April 12

NCME Electronic Board Session I
Time: 1:15–2:45 p.m.
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: Fourth, Terrace Ballroom IV

Paper: Examining Differences in Student Group Performance Using the QuantCrit Framework
WestEd Coauthors: Daniel Murphy and Sumbo Oluwalana

WestEd Reception
Date: Friday, April 12
Time: 7–10 p.m.
Location: The Sonesta Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square Hotel—1800 Market Street, Sonesta Philadelphia, PA

Saturday, April 13

NCME Coordinated Paper Session: Putting Research Into Practice: Case Studies Developing Reporting Tools With Stakeholder Engagement
Time: 1:15–2:45 p.m.
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: First, Room 121B

Paper: Need for Ongoing Monitoring After Operational Deployment—Indiana ISPROUT Reports
WestEd Coauthors: Priya Kannan, Matthew Brunetti, and Jaylin Nesbitt

NCME Coordinated Paper Session: What a Cluster! Examining Local Item Dependence in Multidimensional Science Assessment
Time: 3:05–4:35 p.m.
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: First, Room 120B
WestEd Session Organizer: Sarah Quesen

Paper: Evaluating Item Clusters in Multidimensional Science Assessment
WestEd Coauthors: Sarah Quesen, Marianne Perie, and Daniel Murphy

Sunday, April 14

NCME Coordinated Paper Session: Developing Curriculum-Agnostic, Instructionally Relevant Assessments
Time: 7:45–9:15 a.m.
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: First, Room 123

Paper: Putting the Cognitive in Cognitive Diagnostic Models
WestEd Coauthor: Meredith Langi

NCME Paper Session: Social Emotional Learning
Time: 7:45–9:15 a.m.
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: First, Room 121B
WestEd Discussant: Marianne Perie

NCME Coordinated Paper Session: Co-Design/Participatory Design Approaches to Assessment Development: Learnings From Four Implementation Studies
Time: 9:35–11:05 a.m.
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: First, Room 122A

Paper: Cultural Content in Assessment Items: What Students Notice, Choose, and Prefer
WestEd Coauthors: Molly Faulkner-Bond, Priya Kannan, Jaylin Nesbitt, and Marianne Perie

NCME Organized Session: A Debate on the Merits of Embedded Standard Setting
Time: 1:15–2:45 p.m.
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: First, Room 122B
WestEd Presenter: Marianne Perie

NCME Coordinated Session: Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Approaches to Constructed Response Scoring in Assessment
Time: 3:05–4:35 p.m.
Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: First, Room 120C
WestEd Session Organizer: Sarah Quesen

Paper: Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Approaches to Sample Representation and Metrics for Evaluation
WestEd Author: Jaylin Nesbitt
Paper: Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Approaches to Automated-Scoring Processes
WestEd Author: Sarah Quesen