John P. Yackel/Pearson Graduate Internship

Pearson and the Department of Educational Psychology are proud to announce the John P. Yackel/Pearson Graduate Internship for 2009/2010.

The Clinical Assessment division of Pearson has two campuses; one in Bloomington, Minnesota and the other in San Antonio, Texas. It operates as a business of Pearson Education, the world’s largest integrated education company. Its textbooks, online learning tools, and testing and assessment programs help to educate more than 100 million students worldwide. The Clinical Assessments division brings leadership in the area of tests for special needs and personal growth. The assessment development staff researches and develops norm-referenced tests and related support products that measure cognitive ability, achievement, behavior, and personal and social adjustment.

The purpose of the JPY/Pearson internship program is to provide an opportunity for a graduate student to develop an understanding of the major phases of test development and interpretation by working with seasoned professionals on major projects. Internship activities may include work on product specifications, test blueprints, and test items; field research design; data analysis; and interpretation and educational applications. The internship will be a half-time position from August 31, 2009 to May 30, 2010. Applicants for the position must be full-time graduate students in Educational Psychology or Education with graduate level coursework in measurement and statistics.

The following is a list of possible projects on which the intern will work and a contact person at Pearson Assessments from whom you can obtain more information about each project:

Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals – Fifth Edition (CELF – 5), like its predecessors, is an individually administered clinical tool for the identification, diagnosis, and follow-up evaluation of language and communication disorders in students 5 to 21 years old. CELF – 5 is in the initial stage of development. Activities associated with initial development include assisting the test development staff with: (1) reviewing current literature and best practices in assessment of spoken and written language, (2) soliciting clinician’s feedback on what they would find useful to include in this revision, and (3) developing test and item specifications. For additional information on this project, please contact shannon.wang@pearson.com, or call (210) 339-5336.

Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning, 4th edition (DIAL-4): The DIAL-4 is an individually administered screening test designed to identify young children in need of further diagnostic assessment. It measures motor, conceptual, and language development in children ages 2 years 6 months through 5 years 11 months. The DIAL-4 will be in the standardization/norms development phase.  Activities during this phase will include assisting test development staff with: (1) reviewing standardization cases; (2) developing final scoring rules; (3) developing the technical manual, record forms, and administration handbooks. For more specific information about this project, please contact Julie.lackaff@pearson.com, or 312-242-4381.

Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Third Edition: The KABC-III is an individually administered measure of the processing and cognitive abilities of children, adolescents and young adults ages 2:6 – 25:11, and will be a revision of the KABC-II. The test can be interpreted according to two theoretical models, one based on Luria’s neuropsychological concepts and the other based on Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory. This project is in the early stages of development. Activities will include developing new items for each of the subtests (as well as developing a few new subtests), literature reviews, and analysis of data from some small-scale data collection studies. For more information, please contact Rob Altmann, Senior Research Director, at rob.altmann@pearson.com or 952-681-3268.

Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement: The Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement–Third Edition (KTEA-III) is an individually administered, diagnostic achievement test for children and adults aged 4 1/2 – 35 years. The project is currently in the initiation phase and will be entering the development phase this summer/fall. Activities may include assisting the development team with reviewing current literature, evaluating customer feedback, developing and revising materials and test items, planning and implementing pilot studies, and interpreting pilot data. For more information, please contact Kristina.Breaux@pearson.com, or call 210-339-5264.

K-CLASSIC: This is a computerized assessment that measures cognitive abilities and attention. It is designed for those circumstances in which a brief measure of intelligence will suffice or in which assessment of attention and concentration is desirable. This test is currently a French product that will be adapted to the U.S. Internship activities will include assisting in the adaptation of test items, conducting lab assessments, basic data analyses, art production, and lit reviews. For additional information on this project, please contact maria.munoz@pearson.com (210-339-5289)

Preschool Language Scale, Fifth Edition (PLS-5): The PLS–5 English and Spanish versions are individually administered assessments of receptive and expressive language skills. PLS-5 is designed to identify children at risk for language disorders. The age range of the test is birth through 7 years. We are currently collecting data for the tryout phase of development. In the latter part of the summer, we will be entering the standardization phase. Activities during this phase will include assisting test development staff with: (1) reviewing item content for the final version of test, (2) preparing test administration guides, record forms, and picture manuals, (3) reviewing manuscript prior to mass production for examiners, and (4) reviewing standardization cases. For additional information on this project, please contact debra.garrett@pearson.com (210-339-5318) or pat.zureich@pearson.com (210-339-5313).

Spanish Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PPVT-4) and Expressive Vocabulary Test, Second Edition (EVT-2): These tests are being developed for use in the United States. The development process presents a number of unusual and interesting challenges, including: taking differences among dialects (countries of origin) into account; determining what kind of sample should be used for data collection; and equating the Spanish and English versions. A digital mode of test administration is being developed whereby examiners who speak only English can administer and accurately score the Spanish versions of the tests. For additional information on this project, please contact laura.andrews@pearson.com (210-339-5383) or pat.zureich@pearson.com (210-339-5313).

Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, Third Edition (WRMT-3): The WRMT-3 is an individually administered, comprehensive assessment of reading ability for children and adults, will be in the standardization/norms development phase. Activities remaining during this phase will include assisting the test development staff with: (1) reviewing and scoring tryout cases; and (2) analyzing and interpreting results of the item calibration and bias review. Once completed, WRMT revision will enter the initial stages of the standardization phase. Activities will include assisting the test development staff with: (1) identifying and reviewing item content for final test material; and (2) preparing a test administration guide. For additional information on this project, please contact thomas.brown@pearson.com, or call 952.681.3314.

If you are interested in any of these opportunities to study with a knowledgeable and experienced research and development team, please send a letter of application to

John P. Yackel/Pearson Assessments Internship
Attention: Lori Boucher
Department of Educational Psychology
250 EdSciB, 56 East River Rd
Minneapolis, MN 55455
FAX: 612-624-8241
bouch004@umn.edu

Your application must include a transcript and a short narrative describing your qualifications and preparation for the internship and stating how the position will relate to your academic and professional interests and growth.

Applications must be received by May 13, 2009.

May 2009