The Achievement Network

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Research and Evaluation Analyst, Boston, MA

Organizational Overview:
The Achievement Network (ANet) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 2005, motivated by the vision that one day all students will have the opportunity to master the skills and concepts needed to be successful in college and beyond. ANet is committed to helping all students achieve academic excellence by providing urban, low-income schools with effective data-driven strategies to identify and close gaps in student learning, and embedding these strategies into schools’ everyday routines to measurably close the achievement gap. ANet combines high-quality standards-aligned assessments; educator coaching in how to analyze assessment results, identify gaps in student learning, and create action plans to address these gaps; and peer Networks of schools that collaborate to improve their use of data. This comprehensive package has produced measurable student achievement gains in our Network schools. In the coming 2010-11 school year, we plan to work with nearly 170 schools and continue to expand our Networks in six geographic regions- Massachusetts; Washington, D.C.; New Orleans, LA; Newark, NJ; Chicago, IL; and National Heritage Academies. By 2013, we aim to serve over 300 schools across these Networks in order to affect the educational outcomes of over 60,000 students every year.

ANet was recently named as one of only 30 winners nationally in the United States Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation (i3) Development category competitive grant process. The i3 fund was established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to provide competitive grants to local education authorities and nonprofits partnered with them with a record of improving student achievement. Funding from the i3 grant will support an independent randomized control study and growth of our networks for the next four years.


Position Overview:
The Research and Evaluation Analyst will coordinate ANet’s efforts to document the effectiveness of its program for internal and external purposes. This position will focus on analyzing ANet’s impact and results, building ANet’s capacity in research and evaluation, and developing relationships with key partners that provide data (e.g., states and districts) and conduct research (e.g., university partners). The position will have significant opportunity to lead ANet’s research and evaluation agenda and, as such, the position demands a combination of intellectual leadership, quantitative skills, strong curiosity about factors driving student achievement and clear communication skills.

The position is in ANet’s Boston headquarters, and will work closely with ANet’s Chief Executive Officer, Chief Program Officer, and Product Manager, and report to ANet’s Special Projects Manager. This position offers the unique opportunity for an entrepreneurial, results-oriented individual to become a vital member of The Achievement Network.

Responsibilities: Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
• Develop and perform standard analytical routines to:
o Document student achievement gains in ANet’s partner schools and organizations, including in comparison to gains in similar schools and organizations
o Validate ANet’s program through studying the connection between implementation of our program and student performance
o Set/track ANet’s performance objectives;
• Think creatively to develop new metrics to demonstrate the success of ANet;
• Manage relationships with and oversee output from consulting psychometricians, researchers, and evaluators,
o In particular, work closely with independent, external evaluator executing our Investing in Innovation randomized control trial
• Respond to specific analytical requests by ANet members and determine whether requests should be included in ANet’s standard analytical routines;
• Regularly organize findings for continuous improvement of ANet offerings and staff development; and,
• Produce annual summary of ANet findings for external audiences as well as more frequent summaries around specific topics.

Required Skills, Experiences and Competencies: In order to be successful in this role, ideal candidates should demonstrate the following:
• Excellent education credentials: Advanced or undergraduate degree with coursework in quantitative areas, such as Statistics, strongly preferred.
o Knowledge of urban schools a plus
o Ability to think creatively about metrics and analysis
• Experience with research design and execution:
o Strong statistical analysis skills
o Knowledge of research and evaluation quantitative methodology (including regression analysis)
o Proficiency with SPSS
o Experience conducting quantitative analysis for making policy recommendations
• Ability to manage relationships with external data providers and research partners: Excellent interpersonal skills and strong group presentation skills, with the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively
• Comfort with working in an entrepreneurial, fast-paced, highly collaborative and team-oriented environment: With a desire to contribute to a growing organization, outstanding project management skills and initiative
• Belief in The Achievement Network’s mission and strategy: Most importantly, a passionate commitment to and a sense of urgency for the support of urban schools, along with a belief that all students can achieve at high levels.

Benefits and salary:
Salary for this position is competitive and depends on prior experience and qualifications. We also offer a comprehensive benefits plan.
How to Apply:
The Achievement Network is soliciting applications for this position immediately. To apply, please email a resume and thoughtful cover letter, outlining: a) your interest in The Achievement Network and this position, b) challenges you would expect in this role and how you would overcome them, and c) outcomes and results you would hope to see in your evaluation role. Please send to Alyssa Christopolis at achristopolis@achievementnetwork.org, subject line “Research and Evaluation Analyst.” Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

The Achievement Network is committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization. We are an equal opportunity employer and seek individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply to this position.

RIDE

The Office of Instruction, Assessment, and Curriculum is looking to fill 3 Assessment Specialist Positions (salary range is $74,373 - $90,373):
Assessment specialists are responsible for supporting the development of a comprehensive assessment system including formative, interim, and summative assessments at the local and state level; coordinating statewide systems of professional development in support of data driven instruction; and participating in collaborative multi-state programs and federal grants. The Assessment Specialist primary responsibility will consist of one or more of the following:

* Design, delivery, and support of the formative assessment training program
* Design, delivery, and support of the interim assessment program
* Coordination of the collection, reporting and analysis of assessment data

Interested parties should go to the RIDE page to apply:
http://www.ride.ri.gov/Commissioner/HumanResources/employmentOpport.aspx

Council for Aid to Education

The Council for Aid to Education (CAE) is about to undertake a project funded by the Gates Foundation. (The CAE sponsors the Collegiate Learning Assessment.)

Jeff Steedles is the principal investigator for the project. The topic is at the heart of discussions of common core standards and college readiness.
This project will provide opportunities for a few consultants who are advanced enough technically to contribute to this construct validity project and would benefit from working with senior measurement scientists such as Steve Klein, formerly at the RAND corporation, and Rich Shavelson, professor emeritus, Stanford University. CAE is a non profit focused on exploring the assessment opportunities presented by performance assessment. Several hundred colleges and universities are currently testing with the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) in the United States and CAE is now developing an international version of the CLA for AHELO (the Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes) project recently initiated by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

For more information on this project please contact Jeff Steedles at jsteedles@cae.org.



Description of Project for Which Consultants are Sought.


One of the primary goals of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative is to improve upon current content standards by increasing the focus on core competencies that are expected of high school graduates when they enter college. These include essential skills related to literacy and numeracy as well as general, higher-order skills like thinking critically and communicating ideas effectively. According to Kati Haycock (2010), the Common Core movement is about "trying to clarify what successful college students actually need to know and be able to do, so that we can get serious about teaching and measuring those things rather than simply calculating course credits or pass rates on low-level state tests" (p. 15).

The research project proposed here is one component of a larger effort that seeks to validate the alignment of the CCSS with college readiness. As part of this project, an assessment of the "core of the Core" (i.e., those CCSS most closely aligned with college readiness) will be developed and administered to high school seniors. Scores from this assessment will be evaluated as predictors of traditional college readiness indicators (e.g., HSGPA plus SAT or ACT scores) and compared to scores from tests aligned to existing state content standards. Moreover, the assessment developed for this project will serve as a proving ground for innovative test items aligned with CCSS that may be employed in the large-scale, multi-state assessment systems proposed for the U.S. Department of Education Race-to-the-Top Assessment Grants.

Teachers21 Research Analyst

Responsibilities

Our Research Analyst is responsible for leading the evaluation of new programs, the assessment of current programming, pre and post data analysis for grant applications, as well as supporting school districts in interpreting and analyzing student achievement data.

The Analyst will:
 Lead the conceptualization, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of new programs
 Design and implement formative and summative evaluation approaches within single and across multiple projects
 Disseminate the evaluation reports to project participants and other relevant stakeholders
 Create formal and informal communication loops to support ongoing analysis, assessment, and informed decision-making among project participants
 Provide leadership on implementing current quantitative and qualitative methodologies
 Prepare articles for state and national publications on a wide variety of projects and learnings
 Identify themes and develop conference proposals that advance the reform agenda of Teachers21 and its program development
 Identify state and national conferences or publications that may be a good fit for disseminating the Teachers21 projects and learnings
 Identify areas of need in the field and provide leadership for the development of toolkits, packets, handbooks, other materials, and case studies that support educator’s professional growth
 Document dissemination activities through multiple media sources (e.g., video and print)

Qualifications
The Research Analyst should possess the following qualifications:
 Advanced degree in education or educational administration
 Demonstrated success in grant writing
 Networks with national and state foundations desirable
 Experience in public school teaching or administration
 Proven effective team leadership and facilitation skills
 Proven effective experience in research, program evaluation, and dissemination
 Ability to accomplish multiple simultaneous projects
 Excellent written and oral communication skills
 Strong interpersonal skills

Salary and Benefits
Competitive salary and benefits package

Start Date
On or before October 1, 2010

Contact
Mail, email, or fax your resume and cover letter to:
John D’Auria, President
Teachers21
34 Washington Street, Suite 220
Wellesley, MA 02481
Fax: 781-416-0983
jdauria@teachers21.org

Georgia Southern University

Georgia Southern University is seeking applications for the position of assistant professor of educational research. You can find a description of the position and application instructions here:

http://coe.georgiasouthern.edu/positions.htm

The College Board

Associate Research Scientist - #2599 (Aug 2010)

The College Board, a national educational organization, is conducting a search for an Associate Research Scientist who will assist in the design and development of educational assessments to be used by teachers for the purposes of instructionally relevant and actionable feedback. This position is resident in our Research and Development office in Newtown, PA and will work collaboratively with teacher professional development program staff, senior researchers, product development staff and others throughout the organization.

-- Position Summary
The Associate Research Scientist will develop classroom assessments that will take the form of selected response, constructed response as well as informal, formative assessment strategies and activities that are embedded in instruction. This position will develop psychometric scaling techniques to support instructional feedback, will manage external test developers, and will conduct a variety of analyses related to the use and impact of the instructionally relevant and actionable feedback. Strong skills are required in assessment design and educational measurement.

-- Responsibilities
* Manage external test developers and subject-matter consultants who will be under contract to the College Board for the design and development of classroom assessments to produce instructionally-relevant and actionable feedback. Establish and execute processes and procedures to ensure that vendors and external consultants meet expectations of quality while staying within timeline and budget constraints.
* Collaborate extensively and maintain effective working relationships with various members of a multi-disciplinary team of experts in assessment design, teacher professional development, educational evaluation, product development and business management.
* Collaborate with internal and external experts to design, develop and maintain appropriate psychometric scaling techniques for the selected response and constructed response student data.
* Collaborate with internal and external experts to design and develop instructionally-relevant and actionable feedback for students, teachers, principals and district staff.
* Manage communications and relationships among various internal and external stakeholders for all projects related to the design and development of assessments designed for instructionally-relevant and actionable feedback.
* Establish and execute clear and comprehensive documentation of classroom assessment project, including development and dissemination of routine internal reports as well as external reports and scholarly publications.
* Conduct a variety of research and analysis using internal and external data in support of the design and development of the classroom assessments and reports, as well as the ongoing revisions and investigations of efficacy of the instructionally-relevant and actionable feedback.

-- ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
* Collaborate with staff within the College Board to design and implement assessment and educational initiatives in middle and high schools.
* Collaborate with research scientists within and external to the College Board to design and conduct research studies to support the development of educational initiatives particularly as it affects reduction of achievement gaps.
* Collaborate with research scientists within and external to the College Board to design and implement research studies that assess program impact on student achievement for individual programs and combinations of programs, particularly in middle school and high school. Identify variables at student, teacher, school, school district, and state levels susceptible to policy and/or programmatic interventions.

-- Qualifications
Candidates must have a Doctorate in educational research, measurement, evaluation, curriculum and instruction or a related field. The ideal candidate will have 1-3 years of directly-related post-Doctorate work experience in educational assessment design; new Doctoral-level candidates will be considered if they are able to demonstrate expertise commensurate with job requirements.

The ideal candidate must be able to demonstrate assessment design expertise; possess knowledge of the use of assessment data to drive instruction; demonstrate the ability to develop and analyze various educational data-collection instruments and surveys; and demonstrate the ability to analyze complex assessment and other education-related data using advanced educational measurement and statistical methods. Preferred candidates will demonstrate experience in large-scale educational project management and educational program evaluation.

Candidates with experience and/or knowledge of teacher professional development and classroom instructional research, theory, methods and practice will be given preference.

Candidates must possess strong skills in assessment design, psychometric modeling, educational measurement, research design and methodology, advanced statistics and use of psychometric and statistical software.

-- Other Requirements
* Candidates must possess superior written and oral communication.
* Ideal candidates will have knowledge of and be able to demonstrate commitment to the College Board mission of educational excellence and equity for all students.
* Demonstrated ability in assessment design and development.
* Demonstrated ability to design and conduct educational research studies and statistical analyses.
* Project management experience.
* Excellent verbal and written communications skills, including public speaking.
* Excellent organizational, managerial and consultation skills.
* Demonstrated ability to assume responsibility and set priorities.
* Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues of various professional backgrounds.
* Ability to work on several projects simultaneously.

-- Benefits
We offer our employees an outstanding benefits package which includes 4 weeks of paid time off, a generous retirement savings plan, tuition reimbursement and ongoing professional development and training.

-- Apply
If you are interested in joining the College Board’s Organizational Effectiveness team in one of these positions and you meet our qualifications, we encourage you to apply by visiting our Careers page at www.collegeboard.com/careers. Please search for the job title and submit your resume and a brief, introductory cover letter.

Please contact Janet Wooten(JWooten@collegeboard.org

-- Mission
The College Board’s mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. We are a not-for-profit membership organization committed to excellence and equity in education. Among our best-known products are the SAT®, PSAT/NMSQT®, and Advanced Placement Program®.

The College Board is committed to diversity in the workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The College Board participates in E-Verify, a service of DHS and SSA, where required. Please understand that only qualified applicants will be contacted.

WestEd

Position Title: Project Manager/Assessment Coordinator
Reports to: Director of Operations
Program: Assessment & Standards Development Services
Salary: Level G - $67,118 - $83,897
Location: San Francisco, CA
Time Base: 100%
Position No: 3312

WestEd, a nonprofit research, development, and service agency, works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults. While WestEd serves the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah as one of the nation's Regional Educational Laboratories, our agency's work extends throughout the United States and abroad. WestEd has 17 offices nationwide, from Washington and Boston to Arizona, Southern California, and its headquarters in San Francisco.

Assessment and Standards Development Services (ASDS) is involved extensively at the local, state, and national levels in planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating standards and assessment tools, methods, and systems. Some of ASDS work is aimed at revealing how well students or workers are learning or performing; other parts of our work address broader concerns of accountability and program or school success. ASDS serves as the test-development contractor for high-stakes assessment programs in several states. Its projects also examine the technical aspects of assessment, as well as focus on a range of assessment and accountability-related issues for various student populations (e.g., English language learners, students with disabilities) and for traditional academic areas and developing fields (e.g., alternative school accountability).

Position Description

Brief Position Description:
The Project Manager/Assessment Coordinator will support the program managers and directors of the Assessment and Standards Development Services (ASDS) program by helping to manage the flow of work on various ASDS assessment development and research projects. The Project Manager/Assessment Coordinator will also be expected to perform a leadership role within the coordinator team, for an area of specialty: Proactive project planning; Assessment project management; or Systems and process innovations.

The position will be based in WestEd's San Francisco office.



Responsibilities

CORE RESPONSIBILITES:

* Provide professional-level project coordination for a variety of assessment projects under the direction of Program Directors and Managers.

* Interface on a regular basis with internal staff at all levels in the organization, clients, and partners, building effective relationships.

* Keep track of progress, issues, and risks informing leadership on an ongoing basis and escalating issues and risk in a timely manner.

* Provide effective team leadership to the project support teams, assigning, supervising, and providing feedback on work, to ensure quality and efficiency from the support functions.

* Supervise one or more staff members, providing training, mentoring, coaching and on-going performance management.

* Ensure consistency of approach across the program by following established processes and protocols while engaging in process improvement when appropriate.



PLUS ONE ADDITIONAL SET OF RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Proactive project planning – Provides leadership to a team that implements and monitors project plans, issues logs, risk assessments, and other project management tools, to ensure the delivery of high-quality products and services.

2. Assessment project management – Provides leadership for an assessment project, under the guidance of a Program Director.

3. Systems and process innovations – Provide leadership to a team that develops and implements new systems and procedures that improve quality and increase efficiency within and across projects, and act as liaison within and outside of ASDS when determining appropriate processes to meet project needs.




Qualifications

CORE QUALIFICATIONS

* Bachelor’s degree, advanced degree preferred.

* Proven ability to work in a fast-paced environment dealing successfully with short- and long-term priorities simultaneously.

* Significant independent decision-making experience.

* Excellent interpersonal communications skills.

* High-quality customer service skills, dependability, reliability and professionalism.

* Experience managing staff preferred.

* Experience with Microsoft Word and Excel.

* Demonstrated working knowledge of database use.

* Ability to quickly adapt to new computer programs/software.

* Resourcefulness and careful attention to detail while also keeping the “big picture” and program context in mind.




PLUS ONE ADDITIONAL SET OF QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Proactive project planning – Track record as an effective and efficient project manager, with at least 3 years experience independently developing and implementing plans and procedures, evaluating and assessing problem areas, providing recommendations for solutions, and using Project Management software, tools, and processes.

2. Assessment project management – Some project leadership experience and some industry experience. Examples of industry experience include working with state education agency, and federal or state funded programs, and/or with the process of creating student assessment tests: from item entry to complete forms, scoring activities, and associated release documents.

3. Systems and process innovations –Very experienced with the system development life-cycle, with the proven ability to design programs and processes, and to supervisor, mentor, and train staff to follow the system development life cycle from requirements gathering through sign-off. Requires sophisticated knowledge of Microsoft Access, Excel, SQL scripts, FTP site technology/file sharing, and Word, including the ability to create sophisticated diagrams, charts, graphs, tables, and simple statistical calculations. Additionally, the following are desired: Adobe Acrobat; In Design; Adobe Illustrator (.gif, .tif, .ai, .eps file types); Mail server technologies; and SPSS.



To apply, please confirm that you meet our core qualifications and specify which additional set of responsibilities you are qualified to perform.


Application Process

We invite you to Apply for this Position.

Human Resources
WestEd
730 Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
http://www.WestEd.org

WestEd is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Positions are open until filled.

Evaluation Group at TERC

Mass Extinction Evaluator/ Researcher Job Description
The Evaluation Group at TERC is growing, and we are looking for an aspiring researcher/
evaluator (R&D 3) to join our team and to take major responsibility on the impact evaluation of
an NSF-funded, technology-driven, informal science education project for middle school
students. Qualified candidate must have training (Masters or Doctoral level) and 5 or more years
of experience in education research or evaluation and uses of technology in education, preferably
in the context of informal science education and/or math, science and technology education
program evaluation. Position is half-time with the possibility of additional time/ funding for new
evaluation work development, or on other projects as they are funded.
Responsibilities: With limited supervision from TERC Evaluation PI, work with client to find
and/ or design and test instruments, assessments, and coding protocols to be incorporated into
innovative, collaborative, online “curated game” on environmental science issues. Focus of
instruments is assessment of interest/ engagement, scientific inquiry and collaboration skills, and
attitudes about science and science careers, as well as surveys about student background and
overall experience. Organize, design and conduct a small number of interviews and focus groups
on user experiences. Understand (or be willing to learn about) issues related to protection of
human subjects in research and work with client to be sure appropriate procedures and
protections are implemented. Train others in use of coding protocols. Work with others to code
and analyze data using qualitative and quantitative methods, both during game rollout to assess
data quality and make adjustments as needed, as well as more thoroughly after game completion.
Read current literature within the field. Take major responsibility for writing evaluation report,
collaborating with other project staff. Meet regularly with PI and other project staff to oversee
progress, identify issues, brainstorm solutions, and adjust approach and work plan.
Opportunity to work with Evaluation Group leaders to respond to new requests to work with
clients to develop evaluation portions of STEM education project proposals and to lead or colead
the evaluations should the projects be funded.
Skills and Desirable Characteristics: Curiosity and inquiring habits of mind. Experience and
skills using software tools (e.g., Excel, Filemaker, SPSS, R, Fathom, etc.) for data coding, data
cleaning and restructuring, and for statistical analyses. Ability to work well independently and
with others. Ability to listen actively and communicate well both verbally and in writing. Can-do
attitude. Candidates from under-represented racial and ethnic groups or who have significant
research experience with such groups are encouraged to apply.
Please submit a resume and a statement of interest by email to Jim Hammerman at
jim_hammerman@terc.edu or c/o TERC, 2067 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140.
Please do not call. (Ref. #10-19)
TERC is a not-for-profit R&D organization committed to improving mathematics, science, and
technology learning and teaching. Founded in 1965, TERC is internationally recognized for
creating innovative curricula, fostering teacher professional development, pioneering creative
uses of technology in education, supporting schools and school districts in the integration of
technology into classroom practice and developing equitable opportunities for under-served
learners. Publication of TERC's materials and dissemination of our R&D findings is a top
priority. Additional information regarding job postings and the application process is available
from TERC’s Human Resource Department. Please include your fax number or address with
your request. For more information visit TERC's web site at: www.terc.edu.

Michigan Department of Education

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has an opening for the lead psychometrician for the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, or MEAP. MEAP is Michigan's grade 3-8 general assessment in Mathematics, Reading, Science, Social Studies, and Writing. The complete position posting is available at: http://bit.ly/c2y05P.

Symphony Learning

We are in search of a consultant with expertise in Rasch Analysis and Computer Adaptive Test design. We are an educational software company soon to start a project to develop an online math assessment for kindergarten through grade 4 students. If you have expertise in the areas of educational test design and item analysis, and are interested in serving as a part-time advisor to this project, please email me at the below address.
www.symphonylearning.com