Associate Psychometrician

About the role

The position is remote, requiring adherence to UCSC Telecommuting/Remote Work Guidelines. The employee must be available during assigned telecommuting work hours, which will be discussed with the supervisor. During telecommuting, the employee is responsible for maintaining a suitable work environment and arranging for dependent care.

Responsibilities

• Conduct psychometric analysis and produce technical reports.
• Prepare reports for internal validation and cross-validation studies.
• Develop systems for organizing data to analyze, validate results, identify, and report trends.
• Apply statistical procedures, psychometric methods, and programming (e.g., R, Python, PARSCALE, IRTPRO, flexMIRT) to work independently on most aspects of analysis.
• Validate Consortium-wide embedded field testing calibration.
• Provide psychometric support to other functional groups as needed.
• Under the guidance of more senior staff, conduct analyses and research in response to member requests.
• Deliver presentations at national conferences and present technical information to diverse audiences.
• Plan long-term statistical studies, prepare proposals, design survey instruments, and determine sampling procedures.
• Manage database of research data for projects.
• Prepare data for presentation.
• Review new software instruments and make programming modifications.
• Participate in the development and implementation of data security policies and procedures.
• Keep abreast of technical advances in educational measurement, including artificial intelligence-related advances.
• Document and revise current documentation related to psychometric operational activities and projects.
• Supervise database management and research analysis of research data analysts on assigned projects.
• Implement related business processes.

Requirements

• Doctoral degree in educational measurement, psychometrics, quantitative psychology, data science, statistics, or a closely related subject.
• 0 - 3 years of operational psychometric experience.
• Familiarity with applied psychometric techniques, including classical test theory, item response theory, test equating, scaling, linking, and standard setting.
• Familiarity with software packages and programming languages commonly used in psychometric work (e.g., R, Python, SQL, flexMIRT).
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong research skills that enable the development of solutions and/or proposals to leadership.

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in educational measurement, psychometrics, quantitative psychology, data science, statistics, or a closely related subject.
• Experience ensuring that organizational practices, services, and behaviors support and promote collaboration among staff.
• Familiarity with modern assessment designs and practices such as computer adaptive testing and related parameter estimation methods.
• Familiarity with K-12 education.

Skills

• Statistical procedures, psychometric methods, and programming (e.g., R, Python, PARSCALE, IRTPRO, flexMIRT).
• Data analysis and validation, and systems programming.
• Analysis and consultation.

Benefits

Salary commensurate with skills, qualifications, and experience. Full benefits are provided. The University of California does not sponsor visas for this position.

Pay

Budgeted Salary: $99,040 - $106,400/year. Salary commensurate with skills, qualifications, and experience.

Schedule

Full-time, FixedPercentage of Time: 100%, 40 Hours per Week. Days of the Week: Mon-Fri. Shift Includes: Day.

Initial Review Date (IRD)

UC Santa Cruz jobs are posted until filled. All application materials submitted by 11:59 pm on the IRD will be routed to the hiring team for consideration. Applicants who miss the IRD are still encouraged to apply; their materials will still be forwarded for consideration if requested by the hiring team. Application materials cannot be accepted outside of the jobs portal. Applications cannot be edited on an applicant's behalf. For more information about the IRD and the applicant review process, view this link.

Department Overview

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) is a public agency supported by 12 (states and territories). Through the work of thousands of educators, Smarter Balanced created an online assessment system aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), as well as tools for educators to improve teaching and learning. Smarter Balanced is housed at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Silicon Valley Extension. Our work is guided by the belief that a high-quality assessment system can provide information and tools for teachers and schools to improve instruction and help students succeed, regardless of disability, language, or subgroup. We involve experienced educators, researchers, state and local policymakers, and community groups working together in a transparent and consensus-driven process.

Job Summary

The Associate Psychometrician role within Smarter Balanced involves conducting psychometric analysis, producing technical reports, preparing materials for, and facilitating data review meetings. The Associate Psychometrician is expected to work independently while collaborating with other staff across various offices within Smarter Balanced. Essential to this role is thorough and accurate documentation of business and functional requirements. In general, the Associate Psychometrician employs capabilities as a highly-skilled, experienced research professional with a full understanding of in-depth statistical analyses and/or research software programming techniques. This individual will have the opportunity to contribute to Smarter Balanced's assessment strategy in conducting analyses to support fair, accurate, and equitable assessment experiences for all learners.

Appointment Information

Budgeted Salary: $99,040 - $106,400/year. Salary commensurate with skills, qualifications, and experience. Under California law, the University of California, Santa Cruz is required to post a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role. The salary shown above is the budgeted amount the University reasonably expects to pay and the salary extended should not exceed this posted amount.

How to Apply

To apply, attach your resume and cover letter when applying for a job opening. For guidance related to the application process or if you are experiencing difficulties when applying, please review the Applicant Resources on our website.