National Council on Measurement in Education

National Council on Measurement in Education
Name	National Council on Measurement in Education
Abbreviation	NCME
Founded	1938
Headquarters	United States
Membership	Psychometricians, educators, researchers

National Council on Measurement in Education is a professional association devoted to assessment, testing, and measurement practice for schools and higher education, founded in 1938. It brings together psychometricians, assessment developers, policy-makers, and academics to advance standards for testing and measurement. The council organizes conferences, publishes journals and reports, and engages with institutions and agencies concerned with testing policy.

History

The council emerged in the late 1930s alongside institutions such as American Psychological Association, College Board, Educational Testing Service, United States Department of Education, and Carnegie Corporation of New York, reflecting broader developments in standardized assessment exemplified by SAT and GRE. Early leaders included figures associated with Stanford University, University of Chicago, University of Iowa, Teachers College, Columbia University, and University of Minnesota, and the organization evolved during debates over measurement propelled by events like World War II, the rise of psychometrics in North America, and federal initiatives such as the GI Bill. During the mid-20th century the council intersected with work at American Educational Research Association, Association for Psychological Science, National Academy of Education, and Rand Corporation, contributing to advances in item response theory influenced by researchers at Princeton University and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Later decades saw the council engage with policy controversies tied to No Child Left Behind Act, the development of Common Core State Standards Initiative, collaborations with Council of Chief State School Officers, and debates around large-scale assessment conducted by National Assessment Governing Board and Institute of Education Sciences.

Mission and Objectives

The council’s mission aligns with organizations such as National Academy of Sciences, American Statistical Association, International Association for Educational Assessment, World Bank, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development which emphasize technical quality, fairness, and validity of measurement. Objectives include advancing standards akin to those promoted by American Educational Research Association’s standards for educational and psychological testing, improving practice in connection with entities like Educational Testing Service and ACT, Inc., and informing policy dialogues involving U.S. Congress, National Governors Association, and Department of Defense educational testing programs. The council also aims to build capacity in assessment research through partnerships with universities such as Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, University of Michigan, and Pennsylvania State University.

Organizational Structure and Membership

Governance typically features an elected board and committees similar to structures at American Psychological Association and American Educational Research Association, with membership drawn from academic departments at institutions including University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Texas at Austin, Purdue University, Vanderbilt University, and Michigan State University, as well as from testing organizations like Pearson PLC, Educational Testing Service, ACT, Inc., and consulting firms associated with McKinsey & Company and RTI International. Membership categories mirror professional societies such as American Statistical Association and Association for Psychological Science, with student, professional, and institutional affiliates. Committees address technical issues, ethics, diversity, and policy outreach, interacting with agencies such as Office for Civil Rights (United States Department of Education) and advocacy groups like National Education Association.

Conferences, Publications, and Professional Development

Annual meetings bring together presenters from institutions such as Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Wisconsin–Madison, alongside delegates from Educational Testing Service, Pearson PLC, and international bodies like UNESCO and International Association for Educational Assessment. The council publishes peer-reviewed material and reports comparable to journals from American Educational Research Journal, Journal of Educational Measurement, and monographs produced by Cambridge University Press and Routledge. Professional development offerings include workshops on psychometrics, fairness, and validity tied to tools developed at University of Cambridge and software communities around R Project and Python (programming language), with continuing education credits recognized by associations such as Association of Test Publishers.

Standards, Guidelines, and Advocacy

The council issues guidelines that interact with standards from American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and it consults on technical frameworks used by State Educational Agencies, National Assessment Governing Board, and testing vendors like Pearson PLC. Advocacy efforts address policy debates involving No Child Left Behind Act, Every Student Succeeds Act, and assessment practices in contexts such as higher education admissions by organizations like College Board and ACT, Inc.. The council’s work informs legal and regulatory matters heard by courts and agencies including U.S. Supreme Court issues concerning testing and civil rights, and contributes expert testimony in proceedings related to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act accommodations.

Influence and Criticism

The council has shaped psychometric practice alongside contributors from Psychometrika, American Journal of Sociology, and research programs at Princeton University and University of Chicago, influencing assessment design used by Educational Testing Service, ACT, Inc., and international assessments like Programme for International Student Assessment and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Critics—drawing on scholarship from Teachers College, Columbia University, Brookings Institution, National Education Association, and civil rights advocates—have questioned the council’s stances on fairness, high-stakes testing, and the social impacts of standardized assessments, citing controversies over predictive validity raised in studies affiliated with Harvard University and Stanford University. Debates continue involving interdisciplinary communities at Johns Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania, and New York University concerning equity, test bias, and the role of measurement in policy.

Category:Professional associations in the United StatesCategory:Psychometrics