Senior Researcher, Education Statistics

• Measurement and statistics in large-scale surveys
• Standards and assessment

About AIR:

• Write technical sections and provide budget estimates for proposals
• Manage medium-size tasks and projects, including: liaising with clients, reviewing deliverables, tracking costs, resource allocation, and overseeing junior analysts conducting quantitative analyses
• Working with transactional data (i.e., process data) collected from the students’ interactions with with assessment to support improvements in operations;
• Provide strategic thinking, planning, and execution of assessment operations tasks. Examples include:
  • leading efforts on new approaches and/or technologies in item types, field operations, and measurement and how changes will impact overall assessment program(s);
  • working with transactional data (i.e., process data) collected from the students’ interactions with with assessment to support improvements in operations;
  • find and automate processes to meet accuracy and timeliness goals.
• Find and automate processes to meet accuracy and timeliness goals.
• Mentor and train junior staff working on large-scale assessment projects
• Leading efforts on new approaches and/or technologies in item types, field operations, and measurement and how changes will impact overall assessment program(s);
• Disseminate results of investigations and/or research studies internally (e.g., memos and short oral presentations) and externally (e.g., journal articles, technical reports, and presentations to professional conferences);
• Develop analyses plans for research studies and lead a research team to conduct such studies;

Education, Knowledge, and Experience:

• Experience in large-scale assessment programs such as the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), or a state assessment program.
• Experience analyzing complex survey and assessment data, including appropriate handling of plausible values, weights and variance estimation - a plus but not required.
• Master’s degree with a minimum of 7 years of experience or PhD with a minimum of 3 years experience in such fields as education measurement, statistics, economics, psychometrics, psychology, computer science, or other social science related fields.
• Experience with computer based testing and/or computer based adaptive testing is desired but not required.

Skills:

• Strong attention to detail with commitment to accuracy when writing.
• Can quickly learn new research methods when necessary.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to rigorous quality control at every stage of data collection, preparation, and analysis.
• Ability to collaborate within a team environment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to ensure effective communication regarding complex research methods and findings with individuals at all levels and from diverse backgrounds.
• Excellent organization and time management skills.

Disclosures:

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability.

AIR adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

AIR’s Total Rewards Program, is designed to reward our staff competitively and motivate them to achieve our critical mission. This position offers an anticipated annual salary of $114,000 - $141,000. Salary offers are made based on internal equity within the institution and external equity with competitive markets. Please note this is the annual salary range for candidates that are based in the United States.