NAEP researchers Paul Bailey and Ting Zhang and NCES Acting Branch Chief of Reporting and Dissemination Emmanuel Sikali presented a one-day course on Analyzing NAEP and TIMSS Data with Direct Estimation Using the R Packages EdSurvey and Dire at the 2022 IMPS Conference in Bologna, Italy.

While Dr. Sikali joined the training virtually, Dr. Bailey and Dr. Zhang joined participants in person from Europe (e.g., Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Italy) and the United States. During the conference they met with other large-scale assessment R package developers and faculty and learned about their experiences and thoughts about the future direction of R for official statistics and education research. Dr. Bailey and Dr. Zhang were encouraged by feedback from international scholars who wanted to see more of EdSurvey at European conferences, and feedback from those who have already been using the statistical package in their research and teaching. The team was excited to learn that the international community is ready for more EdSurvey!

In addition to connecting with the global education research community, the EdSurvey team was also able to connect with a newcomer to our NAEP Research and Development community. Yichi Zhang, one of the current interns under the NAEP Doctoral Internship Program, was able to meet in person with Dr. Bailey and Dr. Zhang. With EdSurvey being part of the learning experience for all NAEP Interns, this was a great opportunity for them to connect and share their research interests and experience working with a research institute.

The EdSurvey Team and the NAEP Research and Development Program is excited to continue making connections and bringing innovation to large-scale assessment in education.

Dr. Ting Zhang (Right) with NAEP Intern Yichi Zhang