Summer 2009 Program on Psychometrics

Research Foci

Much of current psychometric research involves the development of novel statistical methodology to model educational and psychological processes, and a wide variety of new psychometric models have appeared over the last quarter century. Such models include (but are not limited to) extensions of item response theory (IRT) models, cognitive diagnosis models, and generalized linear latent and mixed models. The development of several of these models has been spearheaded by quantitative psychologists, a group of researchers who find their academic homes primarily in psychology and education departments. During the same period, very similar models and methodologies were developed-often independently-by academic statisticians residing in mathematics and statistics departments. The lack of interaction between these two groups has resulted in a substantial duplication of effort and, more importantly, a delay in the development of methodology crucial to both fields. The goal of this program is to bring researchers from both areas together to explore possible avenues for mutual collaboration.

The Program Leaders Committee is currently comprised of Charles Lewis (Fordham University), Richard Swartz (University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center), and Valen Johnson (University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center); Directorate Liaison is James Berger (SAMSI).

The goal of this program is stimulate collaborations between researchers in the psychometric and statistical communities. The desired outcome for the program will be a well-defined, concrete list of specific research directions that will facilitate methodological development in related psychometric/statistical models.