DATA IN ACTION
A GROWING TEAM FOR GROWING PROJECTS The International Study Center not only produced regular TIMSS and PIRLS reports, databases, and special projects but also played a central role in educating the next generation of international assessment scholars. Ina and Mick had a number of brilliant doctoral students at Boston College’s Lynch School, who went on to have distinguished careers at Boston College, the American Institutes of Research, the Educational Testing Service, and other places. The TIMSS and PIRLS projects are (and I am) lucky that several of these continued to work in the area of large-scale assessment, and several either continued to serve TIMSS and PIRLS directly or returned to Boston College to join the center as part of the new leadership team. Nobody at the TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center, IEA, or anywhere else can claim they know and understand every aspect of these extremely complex international large- scale assessments. The transition to digital assessments brought new challenges and new opportunities. In addition, we started working with IEA on new studies, such as the Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (LaNA) for low- and middle-income countries, as well as the TIMSS 2023/2024 Longitudinal Study. Furthermore, we entered a new era where the international report has become a more interactive online resource and is augmented by subsequent
large-scale assessments, and my roles on NAEP, PISA, and PIAAC at ETS. I met and worked closely with Ina and Mick and many former and current staff members of the TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center. Eventually, Mick and Ina retired after a long and distinguished career. The TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center will be forever grateful for the solid foundation these two founders and visionaries laid for all of us to build on. Supported by Boston College’s Lynch School of Education and IEA, I was able to implement necessary changes to the leadership structure that enabled a wider group of experts to join the team and to help TIMSS and PIRLS move confidently into the future and succeed in continuing the growth of these projects.
“The TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center will be forever grateful for the solid foundation these two founders and visionaries laid for all of us to build on.”
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