In this digital ITEMS module, Dr. Francis O’Donnell and Dr. April Zenisky provide a firm grounding in the conceptual and operational considerations around results reporting for summative large-scale assessment and, throughout the module, highlight research-grounded good practices, concluding with some principles and ideas around conducting reporting research.
Module Overview
In this digital ITEMS module, Dr. Francis O’Donnell and Dr. April Zenisky provide a firm grounding in the conceptual and operational considerations around results reporting for summative large-scale assessment. They anchor the module in the position that results reporting must be approached as a data-driven story that is purposefully designed to communicate specific information to accomplish specific goals. They further connect their overview to various aspects of validity and present different conceptual frameworks and practical models for report development. Throughout the module, they highlight research-grounded good practices, concluding with some principles and ideas around conducting reporting research. The module contains audio-narrated slides, an interview, interactive activities, and additional resources such as a glossary and reference documents.
Francis O’Donnell, National Board of Medical Examiners
Francis O’Donnell is a psychometrician at the National Board of Medical Examiners. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Research, Educational Measurement, and Psychometrics in 2019. During her doctoral studies, she contributed to several projects on results reporting for K-12 and licensure assessments, which culminated in a dissertation about how teachers, parents, and students interpret achievement level labels. Francis’s research has been presented at multiple conferences and a book chapter she wrote with Dr. Stephen Sireci about reporting in credentialing and admissions contexts appears in Score Reporting: Research and Applications (Zapata-Rivera, 2018). In her current role, she oversees psychometric activities for medical education and certification examinations and researches topics such as validity, fairness, and innovative approaches to reporting results.
April Zenisky, University of Massachusetts Amherst
April L. Zenisky is Research Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Policy, Research, and Administration in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst, and Director of Computer-Based Testing Initiatives in UMass’ Center for Educational Assessment (CEA). At UMass she leads and contributes to several externally-funded projects, and teaches courses and workshops on various topics, including test construction. April’s main research interests include results reporting, technology-based item types, and computerized test designs. Her collaborative work on results reporting with Ronald K. Hambleton has advanced best practices for report development relative to both individual and group reporting and has explored emerging strategies for online reporting efforts. She has presented her research at various national and international conferences and has authored and co-authored a number of book chapters.
