Profile

Dr. Stevens’ research focuses on the application of advanced modeling methods to applied problems in educational assessment and accountability. Many of his current activities center on the work arising from a large, federally funded research center, the National Research and Development Center on Assessment and Accountability for Special Education (NCAASE; Gerald Tindal, Ann Schulte, Stephen Elliot, and Joseph Stevens, Co-Principal Investigators). As part of this work, Dr. Stevens is studying the longitudinal academic growth of students in mathematics and reading in Grades K to 8 with an emphasis on identifying growth trajectories for specific subgroups of students and examining the size of achievement gaps among student subgroups. NCAASE research is also examining the efficacy of alternative statistical models for estimating and representing teacher/classroom and school performance.