Associate Research Scientist
EDUCATION, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE:
Doctoral degree in educational measurement, educational psychology, cognitive science or a related field from an accredited institution of higher education.
For some positions, ability to effectively apply psychometric techniques-- including classical test theory, item response theory, test equating, scaling and linking—in a testing program setting.
For some positions, ability to apply learning and instructional theory to applied education settings.
Knowledge of and ability to articulate national and state trends in education and their implications for assigned programs.
Ability to conduct independent research in learning, instruction, assessment or applied statistics.
Strong technical writing skills, as demonstrated through research papers, publications, or technical reports.
Project management skills necessary to complete assigned research tasks in a timely manner.
Communication skills necessary to function effectively with internal project teams and external clients.
Familiarity with software packages and programming languages commonly used in psychometric work or research (e.g., SAS, SPSS, PARSCALE, WINSTEPS, BILOG, MULTILOG, C++, S-PLUS, FORTRAN, R)
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Serves as a secondary research contact for a program.
Updates specifications and plans for research analyses.
For some positions, designs and conducts analyses for sampling design, DIF analyses, item calibration, linking, and equating under the guidance of more senior researchers.
For some positions, facilitates and conducts item review meetings with clients and educators.
For some positions, participates in workshops for determining cut-off scores and performance level descriptors.
Maintains documentation and data files related to research analyses.
Conducts and collaborates on research that contributes to theory and practice in assessment, learning, instruction and/or the Test and Measurement Services Research Agenda.
Makes presentations at national and international conferences (e.g., AERA, NCME, CCSSO, APA, Psychometric Society).
May present technical information to different audiences (e.g., client groups or technical advisory committees) with guidance from more senior researchers.
Conducts research and special studies on behalf of clients under the guidance of more senior researchers.
Contributes to research sections of proposals under guidance from more senior researchers.
Works under guidance from more senior researchers on different aspects of research programs.
Works with software developers and QA analysts to ensure the integrity of the data used for research analyses.
Provides support and consults with other departments and customers regarding research issues.
Willingness to travel as necessary.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.pearson.com/index.cfm?pageid=7
