Assessment and Measurement Students and Faculty Attend Annual Conference of the Northeast Educational Research Association (NERA)

By: Department of Graduate Psychology

Students and faculty members from the Assessment and Measurement PhD program and the Quantitative Psychology Master’s program attended the annual meeting of the Northeast Educational Research Association in Trumbull, Massachusetts. Attending this conference has become a tradition for our programs, with many students and faculty traveling to conference site on a JMU bus. This year, JMU students and faculty participating in ten sessions at the conferences, including paper presentations, workshops, and invited addresses.

A&M and Quant Psychology students and faculty preparing to leave for the NERA conference.

JMU students, alumni, and faculty at the NERA conference.

Below are impressions of the NERA conference from first-year Assessment and Measurement PhD students:

Caroline Prendergast, First-year Assessment and Measurement Doctoral Student

This was my first trip to NERA. I had heard wonderful things about the conference, but I was a bit nervous about attending a conference without contributing to a presentation. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the fulfilling and engaging conversations I was able to have with researchers from other institutions and organizations as well as a number of JMU alumni. The environment was friendly, and the conference provided excellent opportunities for me to explore possibilities for my future work (a critical part of any graduate student’s development).  I was also able to see my peers present some fantastic research. Their professionalism and their hard work impressed me, and I left the conference feeling fortunate to call them my colleagues. I can see now why people love this conference: the collegial environment, the breadth of methods and interests represented, and the networking opportunities left me feeling warmly welcomed into the professional community. I am exceedingly grateful to JMU for providing the opportunity to attend NERA 2018, and I’m already looking forward to attending again next fall.

Caroline Prendergast (center) with A&M PhD students Andrea Pope (left) and Madison Holzman (right).

Chi Au, First-year Assessment and Measurement Doctoral Student

Attending NERA has always been a wonderful and exciting experience for me. I enjoyed presenting at NERA not just because of the professional feedback I got that polished my own research but also for impressing like-minded researchers external to JMU. It is great to see that both current students and alumni of our JMU program succeeded in leaving lasting positive impressions onto potential future employers as well as peers in the field via our dynamic presentation skills and personalities. I feel so humbled and honored to see how well our program trained us to be effective disseminators of knowledge!

Further, the conference sessions were very applicable to my professional development. NERA had always provided quality sessions to equip me with latest development in educational measurement as well as career preparation tips. There’s always something I can take back to improve my performance in my assistantship and research. In addition to the sessions, NERA pairs students with current working professionals for mentorship opportunities. Through this, I was able to meet and talk with a researcher in the private educational research industry to expand my career options and develop useful networks. Our conversations opened my eyes to seeing how the educational measurement skills that we are learning can be used to affect real changes in public policy at the district and state level.

Overall, I had an inspiring experience at NERA. Whether it is presenting my research or just laughing with my peers, I am always learning something. I always leave with greater confidence and enthusiasm. There was never a dull moment.

Chi Au (left) with Scott Monroe, faculty member at the University of Massachusetts.

Nikole Gregg, First-year Assessment and Measurement Doctoral Student

This was my third trip to the Northeastern Education Research Association (NERA).Though I went twice as a Master's student in the Psychological Sciences M.A. program, this was the first year I presented at NERA. I was able to present my thesis in a paper presentation this year. In addition, I also had the opportunity to be first author for a workshop on data visualization. 

NERA has always been a place to network with alumni and others in the field. My workshop and paper presentation provided my growing professional network behavioral evidence of my research and communication skills. Therefore, I was able to network at NERA this year with more substantive evidence of my skills than in previous years. I hope this contributes to positive outcomes as I apply to internships and other various opportunities in the future.

Nikole Gregg (left) with A&M doctoral student Chi Au (center) and alumnus Jerusha Henderek (right).

A&M PhD student Beth Perkins is mentored by Jonathan Rubright, Psychometrican at the National Board of Medical Examiners

A&M faculty member Deborah Bandalos speaking at a lunchtime panel discussion the effects of stereotype threat on educational measurement.

A&M PhD student Andrea Pope (2 ^nd from left) presents in a panel on “Noncognitive Skills: Bringing Science to the Hype,” with fellow panelists and A&M alumni Rory Lazowski (left) and Ross Markle (2 ^nd from right), and panel discussant Kurt Geissinger, Director of the Buros Center for Testing.

Quantitative Methods Master’s student Paulius Satkus and A&M PhD student Beth Perkins present their research “Exploring Emotional Reactions During Low-stakes Testing.”