A Living History of Measurement in Education
The National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) was founded in response to a fundamental tension that remains central to educational measurement today: the rapid expansion of testing and assessment practices alongside the growing concern about how those measures were being constructed, interpreted, and used.
From its beginnings, NCME has positioned itself not simply as a professional association for test developers or psychometricians, but as a forum for advancing responsible, scientifically grounded measurement in educational contexts.
An Evolving Record
NCME’s history continues to be written and shaped by changing educational contexts, methodological developments, and ongoing debates about the appropriate use of measurement. This page brings together narrative history with curated archival resources to document how the organization and the field have developed over time.
The materials presented here are intended both as a historical record and as a resource for reflection on the role of measurement in education. As new materials are added and additional histories are documented, this archive will continue to grow.
Foundations and Longstanding Trajectory
Since its inception, the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) has been guided by a set of enduring goals: advancing sound measurement practice, promoting responsible interpretation and use of assessment results, and fostering a professional community committed to scientific rigor and public responsibility.
NCME emerged in response to rapid growth in educational testing and parallel concerns about misuse, overinterpretation, and insufficient professional guidance. From the beginning, the organization defined its role broadly—linking technical development to interpretation, application, and consequences of measurement in educational systems. This orientation has shaped NCME’s activities, standards, and community across decades.
The sections below outline how these foundational commitments took institutional form and evolved over time.
Origins and Early Years (1937–1961)
NCME traces its origins to informal meetings among college instructors teaching educational measurement in the 1930s. These discussions took place during a period of explosive growth in standardized testing in schools, accompanied by increasing criticism from educators, parents, and measurement specialists. Central concerns included whether tests were measuring what mattered and whether results were being interpreted too literally or without sufficient professional judgment.
In February 1937, a group of measurement educators met in New Orleans to consider forming an organization dedicated to the practical and responsible use of educational measurement. This led, in 1938, to the establishment of the National Association of Teachers of Educational Measurements, later renamed the National Council on Measurements Used in Education, and finally, in 1961, the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME).
These name changes reflect an expanding scope: from teaching measurement, to measurement as used in education, to measurement as an integral component of educational systems.
Foundational Purposes
Early NCME documents articulated purposes that remain central to the organization today. These included:
- Disseminating knowledge about measurement techniques and instruments used to assess human abilities, personality characteristics, and educational achievement.
- Promoting improvement in measurement practices, including test construction, administration, scoring, interpretation, and use.
- Encouraging professional standards that support appropriate interpretation and responsible application of measurement results.
From the outset, NCME emphasized use and interpretation, not only technical development, distinguishing its mission from a narrowly methodological or tool-focused orientation.
Growth,
Professionalization, and Standards
Following World War II, NCME expanded rapidly in membership and influence. Annual meetings became a central venue for scholarly exchange, and the NCME Yearbook, first published in 1941, served both as a scholarly outlet and as a record of developments in the field.
NCME also played a formative role in the development of professional guidance for testing and assessment. Through collaboration with allied organizations, the Council contributed to early technical recommendations that later evolved—through successive revisions responding to new scientific, legal, and societal contexts—into what are now the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. These standards reflect NCME’s sustained commitment to aligning technical rigor with ethical, legal, and interpretive responsibility.
NCME as a Professional Community Today
Throughout its history, NCME has brought together researchers, educators, policymakers, and practitioners working across diverse educational contexts. While the organization’s activities and membership have expanded substantially since its early decades, its core commitments remain consistent.
NCME’s committees, special interest groups, newsletters, and conferences have supported:
- Advances in measurement theory and practice
- Training and professional development in educational measurement
- Dialogue across disciplinary and applied boundaries
- Critical reflection on the consequences of measurement use
This community-centered orientation remains a defining feature of NCME’s identity.
Historical Resources and Archives
NCME’s history is preserved not only in narrative accounts, but in a rich set of archival resources. These materials document how ideas, practices, and debates in educational measurement have evolved over time.
Past Presidents and Presidential Addresses
Biographical profiles of past NCME presidents highlight the leadership and intellectual contributions that have shaped the organization and the field across its history.
In addition, NCME maintains an archive of presidential addresses delivered at annual meetings. These addresses provide insight into how successive presidents have interpreted the Council’s mission in relation to evolving scientific, educational, and policy contexts, including advances in measurement theory, debates about validity and fairness, and concerns about the consequences of measurement use.
Recorded presidential addresses are currently available beginning in 2016. Earlier addresses are referenced where possible through conference programs and published materials.
Annual Meeting Programs
An archive of NCME annual meeting programs provides a record of shifting research priorities, methodological developments, and emerging issues in educational measurement.
Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing
Historical editions of the Standards document how conceptions of validity, reliability, fairness, and test use have developed across decades.
Oral Histories and Interviews
Selected interviews with influential educational measurement scholars and practitioners offer first-hand perspectives on the field’s evolution, major debates, and enduring challenges.
Primary Historical Sources
- Dragositz, A. (1963). The National Council on Measurement in Education: Its History, Purposes and Activities. NCME Yearbook, No. 20, pp. 170–172.
This document remains a foundational reference for understanding NCME’s origins and early mission.