Miles Davison specializes in using quantitative and mixed-methodologies to examine how K-12 intervention policies and programs impact equity in schools.

Broadly, Michael Gaddis’s work provides evidence of inequality in the US related to race/ethnicity, social class, and education. He studies educational inequality across five dimensions: (1) the effects of educational credentials on important life outcomes, including employment and health; (2) when and how educational credentials attenuate or exacerbate racial/ethnic discrimination; (3) intergenerational mobility as it relates to the direct and indirect effects of educational attainment across generations; (4) differences in students’ mental health and campus-level stigma across college and universities and the subsequent impact on academic achievement and attainment; and (5) racial/ethnic and SES inequalities in cultural capital and social capital and their effects on academic achievement and attainment among K–12 students. 

Ayesha K. Hashim uses interdisciplinary and mixed-methods research designs to study the impacts of district-level school policies on student learning, and the leadership, organizational, and implementation conditions that can explain observed results.

Andrew Hegedus consulted with education system leaders around the world; prototyped, launched, and supported state-of-the-art reports; and managed research projects focused on understanding the drivers for growth in schools with differing levels of challenges.

Ann Hu works mainly on MAP Growth assessments. Her research interests include linking studies between formative and summative assessments, item bank development and maintenance, adaptive testing engines, test security, and norms studies. She has extensive experience in conducting psychometric analyses and research based on Rasch models and IRT, constructing fixed forms and CATs, and designing and conducting standard settings. Prior to joining NWEA in 2017, Dr. Hu worked at Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) on multiple large-scale achievement testing programs for Pennsylvania, Michigan, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, and Minnesota. Dr. Hu holds a doctorate in measurement, evaluation, and cognition from the University of Alberta. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a MEd in educational psychology.

G. Gage Kingsbury provides advice and development work in the application of technology to practical assessment situations. He designed the first adaptive tests used in educational settings and helped design adaptive tests currently administered to K–12 students throughout the United States and in a wide variety of international schools.

Susan Kowalski began her career in science education teaching high school physics and physical science in Bloomington, MN. She completed her PhD in curriculum and instruction from the University of Minnesota and the spent several years developing and researching curricula and professional learning experiences at BSCS Science Learning. Her current work investigates new approaches to three-dimensional assessment in support of the Next Generation Science Standards. She is focused on how teachers might learn to more effectively use assessment data to inform their day-to-day science instruction and enhance equitable learning opportunities for students.

Megan Kuhfeld seeks to understand students’ trajectories of academic and social-emotional learning and the school and neighborhood influences that promote optimal growth.

Karyn Lewis is director of the Center for School and Student Progress at NWEA where she leads a team of researchers who operate at the intersection of K-12 education research, practice, and policy.

Xueming (Sylvia) Li focuses on psychometric issues related to MAP Growth. Her research interests include computer-based testing, applications of IRT, test validity, cross-cultural assessment, and test score linking and equating. Prior to joining NWEA in 2015, she received a doctoral degree in research, educational measurement, and psychometrics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Tyler Matta is motived to improve the tools used for educational decision making to support the building of equitable educational systems. His work spans computational psychometrics, learning theory, and education policy.

Patrick Meyer manages the team of psychometricians, statistical analysts, and project managers involved in the district division of NWEA. This team conducts psychometric research for assessments such as MAP Growth and MAP Reading Fluency. His research interests include IRT, psychometric software design, and the psychometric characteristics of teaching measures. Dr. Meyer is the inventor and lead developer of jMetrik, an open-source software program used in over 20 countries. He has authored two books and published over 20 articles in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Educational Measurement, Applied Psychological Measurement, and Educational and Psychological Measurement. He has conducted 25 standard-setting workshops in the licensure and certification field, as well as numerous workshops on psychometric theory and the use of jMetrik for data analysis. Prior to joining NWEA in 2018, Dr. Meyer worked as an associate professor with tenure in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, where he taught courses in educational measurement and applied statistics. He began his academic career in 2004 as an assistant professor at James Madison University’s Center for Assessment and Research Studies. Dr. Meyer holds a PhD in educational psychology and research from the University of South Carolina.

Fang Peng works with the MAP Reading Fluency assessment. Among her interests and areas of expertise are computerized adaptive testing, measurement validity, early childhood development, and applications of natural language processing and machine learning in assessment contexts. Prior to joining NWEA in 2022, Fang worked as a psychometrician at the National Council of State Boards of Nursing where she gained extensive operational and research experience in large-scale licensure examinations. Fang holds a PhD in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Scott J. Peters specializes in educational assessment and data use, gifted and talented student identification, equity within advanced educational opportunities, and effectiveness of educational policy.

Beth Tarasawa is relentlessly committed to using data-driven insights to transform education and eliminate structural barriers to achieve equitable outcomes for all students.