2023 Frank B. Womer Lecture: Jennifer Randall
Prechter Laboratory (SEB Room 2202)
Let's Talk About Race(ism): Recognizing and Disrupting White Supremacist Logics in Our Assessment Practices
Jennifer Randall
Dunn Family Endowed Professor of Psychometrics and Test Development,
University of Michigan School of Education
ABOUT PROFESSOR RANDALL
Professor Randall is a scholar of educational assessment and psychometrics who studies measurement issues (both large-scale and classroom-based) and the ways in which assessments take into consideration historically marginalized populations in the U.S. and abroad. She explores this through two overarching strands of research: core technical issues in psychometrics, such as applications of Rasch modeling, instrument validation, and Differential Item Functioning (DIF); and culturally sustaining and antiracist approaches to developing assessment and measurement tools and practices. She is a leading psychometrics scholar who publishes her research in top peer-reviewed journals, and has received support from the National Science Foundation and the Chan/Zuckerberg Initiative to fund her research. She is president of the Center for Measurement Justice (CMJ), an independent non-profit funded by philanthropic organizations.
Dr. Randall is an active member of several regional and national professional organizations including the American Educational Research Association, the National Council of Measurement in Education, and the Northeastern Educational Research Association (NERA). She has served as co-chair of the NERA Diversity Task Force as well as a chair of the NCME Diversity Issues in Testing Committee, and is a founding board member of Women in Measurement, Inc.
ABOUT THE LECTURESHIP
This lectureship is made possible by a generous endowment from Dr. Frank B. Womer, who served the School of Education as a professor of educational measurement for 30 years. Dr. Womer was staff director of the National Assessment for Educational Progress when it launched the first nationwide effort to assess student achievement in basic subjects. He also founded the annual Michigan School Testing Conference which continues to this day under the sponsorship of the School of Education. His gift reflects his abiding commitment to the School of Education and its role in improving the quality of education in a democratic society.