Jamal Abedi

Professor of Education
Phone: (530) 754-9150
Email: jabedi@ucdavis.edu

Expertise
Assessment; Classical theory of measurement; English Learners; Experimental design; Psychometrics; Quantitative methods

Education

Ph.D., Psychology - (Psychometrics) - George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Nashville

Highlighted Publications

Abedi, J. (in press). Linguistic Factors in the Assessment of English Language Learners. In Handbook of Measurement. Oxford: University of Oxford/Sage Publication.
Abedi, J. (in press). Research and Recommendations for Formative Assessment with English Language Learners. In Andrade, H. L and Cizek, G., J. Handbook of Formative Assessment. University at Albany—SUNY.
Abedi, J. (2008). Classification System for English Language Learners: Issues and Recommendations. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practices. Vol. 27, issue 3, 17-22.
Abedi, J.; Herman, J.L. (in press). Assessing English Language Learners’ Opportunity to Learn Mathematics: Issues and Limitations. Teacher’s College Record.
Abedi, J. (2008). Measuring Students’ Level of English Proficiency: Educational Significance and Assessment Requirements. Educational Assessment. Vol. 13, ISS 2-3.
Abedi, J. (accepted for publication). English Language Learners with Disabilities: Classification, Assessment, and Accommodation Issues. Journal of Applied Testing Technology.
Abedi, J. (2007). Utilizing accommodations in the assessment of English language learners. In N. H. Hornberger (Ed), Encyclopedia of Language and Education: Vol. 7: Language Testing and Assessment (pp. 331-348). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Science+ Business Media.
Abedi, J. (2007). High-stakes Tests, English Language Learners, and Linguistic Modification. Sunshine State TESOL Journal, Vol. 6 No 1, 1-20, Spring 2007.
Abedi, J. (2007). English Language Learners with Disabilities. In Cahlan-Laitusis, C. & Cook, L. Accommodating student with disabilities on state assessments: What works? (Ed.) Arlington, Council for Exceptional Children.
Abedi, J. (2007). The No Child Left Behind Act and English Language Learners: Assessment and Accountability Issue. In Garcia, O. & Baker, C. Bilingual Education An Introductory Reader (reprint form the journal of Educational Researcher.
Abedi, J. (2006). Language Issues in Item-Development. In Downing, S. M. and Haladyna, T. M. Handbook of Test Development (Ed.). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Abedi, J. and Gandara, P. (2006). Performance of English Language Learners as a Subgroup in Large-Scale Assessment: Interaction of Research and Policy. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practices. December 2006, Vol. 26, Issue 5, pp. 36-46.
State TESOL Journal, 6(1), 1-20.

View full publication list

Professional Experience

2007- 2009 Chair, Annual Meeting Policies and Procedures Committee, American Educational Research Association.
Aug 2006 –Pre Member of the Planning Committee, American Educational Research Association
2006- 2007 Chair Designate, Annual Meeting Policies and Procedures Committee, American Educational Research Association.
2006- 2009 Member, NCME Standards & Test Use Committee for revisions of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing.
Aug 2005 –2008 Member of the Planning Committee, National Conference on Large-Scale Assessment
Aug 2006- Pre Member of the expert panel of the U.S. Department of Education, LEP Partnership. LEP Partnership Meeting August 28-29, Washington, October 28-29, Washington, DC.
Oct. 2006 – Pre Member of the Technical Advisory Group of Colorado Department of Education
Fall 2004 – 2007 Member of the Expert Panel on NCLB, National Education Association, Washington, DC.
March 2007- Pre Member of the Technical Advisory Group of South Carolina Department of Education
Fall 2001- Pre Member of the Technical Advisory Group of New Mexico Department of Education
Fall 2005-2007 Member of the Technical Word Group (TWG) of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a Congressionally mandated evaluation of NEAP.
Fall 2005-Pre Member of the Technical Advisory Group of the Western Regional Educational Laboratory (WREL, WestEd) ()
2004 – Pre Co-Principal Investigator of the National Accessible Reading Assessment.
2002- 2007 Evaluator, Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)’s English Language Development Assessment (ELDA) Collaborative Assessment Project
1999-2000 Chair, AERA Special Interest Group on Research on the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and Limited English Proficient Students in Large-Scale Assessments.
1999 Peer reviewer for the Interim Evaluation of the Regional Educational Laboratories. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

Awards and Honors

American Educational Research Professional Service Award: Outstanding Contribution Relating Research to Practice. 2003.
California Educational Research Association: Lifetime Achievement Award, December 2008.

Associations, Boards & Committees

Chair Designate, Annual Meeting Policies and Procedures Committee, 2006- 2007.
Chair, Annual Meeting Policies and Procedures Committee, 2007- 2009.
Member of the Technical Advisory Group of Colorado Department of Education, Fall 2006-present.
Member of the Expert Panel on NCLB, National Education Association, Washington, DC, Fall 2004-present.
Member of the Technical Advisory Group of Michigan Assessment Research Council, Spring 2006-present.
Member of the Reading Education Research Review Panel, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, Fall 2006-present.
Member, National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) Standards & Test Use Committee, 2006- present.
Member of the NAEP Technical Work Group (TWG). A Congressionally mandated evaluation over the next 2.5 years, 2004-2006.
Member of the Technical Advisory Group. The New England Compact Enhanced Assessment, 2004-2006.
Evaluator. Council of Chief State School Officers' (CCSSO) English Language Development Assessment (ELDA) Collaborative Assessment Project, 2002-2006.
Member of the Technical Advisory Group. New Mexico Department of Education, 2002-2006.
Co-founder & Chair. AERA Special Interest Group on Research on the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and Limited English Proficient Students in Large-Scale Assessments, 1999-2000.

Courses Taught at UC Davis

Education 119: The use and misuse of standardized tests
Education 202: Computer Analysis of Qualitative Data
Education 203: Educational Testing and Evaluation
Education 204B: Quantitative Methods in Educational Research: Experimental Design
Education 292: Survey Research Methods

Funded Research

October 2006-Present: Co-principal investigator, a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education to examine issues concerning ELL assessments.
October 2004 – Present Co-principal investigator. The National Accessible Reading Assessment Project (NARAP). A 5-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
February 2004-2006 Project Director, a grant from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to lead national efforts on research on Language Minority Children using NCES databases (ECLS and NHES).
February 2004-July 2004 Project Director, a grant from the UCLA Mathematics Department to conduct evaluation on the effectiveness of their math training for elementary, middle and high school.
June 2002-2006: Project Director, a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute for Education Sciences to conduct studies on the instruction and assessment of ELL students, in particular, to study the Opportunity To Learn (OTL) for ELL students.
September 1999-2002: Project Director, a contract from the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs (OBEMLA). Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST).
1999-2000: Principal investigator/Project Director, a grant from the National Center for Education Statistic to conduct NAEP Secondary Analyses.

UC Davis School of Education

Jamal Abedi