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Contextual Framework for Test Fairness

The use of test scores is paramount to opportunities in our society. Using a combination of advanced statistical modeling methods and socio-cultural theory for detecting test and item bias pertaining to fairness for individuals across multiple populations, languages, and cultures is what I study. My research pushes the boundary of these methods with a new approach to item responding that considers sociological, structural, community, and contextual variables as possible influences on an individual’s test responses. This phenomenon is explored with the Washington Assessment of Risk and Needs of Students (WARNS), a tool used to gauge school truancy in Washington, which has the second highest rate in the nation. Exploring the WARNS with a contextual socio-cultural framework promotes test fairness across populations while deepening our understanding of how item responding can vary depending on the environment of the respondent. For the WARNS, this research can lead to more accurate and appropriate services to support student success.

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Educational Psychology

Thao earned her bachelors of science in Psychology with an emphasis on human development from Washington State University in 2015. Her post-bachelorette experience managing large grant-funded projects for the National Institute of Health and National Science Foundation on the development of neuropsychiatric assessments inspired her to pursue research in measurement. Thao is now a doctoral student in the Educational Psychology program. She currently works in the Learning and Performance Research Center as a graduate research assistant on projects involving psychometric analysis, with particular interests in test validity and fairness.