Newswise — Eva L. Baker, Ed.D., professor of educational psychology and social methods in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), has been voted president-elect of the 22,700-member American Educational Research Association (AERA). Her term as president starts at the end of AERA's 2006 Annual Meeting, after a year of service as president-elect.
Dr. Baker will succeed Gloria Ladson-Billings, Ph.D., professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Dr. Ladson-Billings, an expert on multicultural education, assumes office this year at the conclusion of the 2005 Annual Meeting, taking place April 11 to 15 in Montreal, Canada.
At UCLA, Professor Baker is director of the Center for the Study of Evaluation and co-director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST).
An educational psychologist, Professor Baker has concentrated her research on assessment and accountability models, as well as on the design and validation of technology-based learning and assessment systems. Some new models measure complex human performance in fields as diverse as assessment, history, art, science, and writing. Products of CRESST's work, such as the Quality School Portfolio, have been created in software form so that research findings may be easily used by diverse audiences. Now, she is helping to design sophisticated testing of performance assessment in large-scale environments for both military and civilian education.
Professor Baker, who was awarded an Ed.D. degree from UCLA in 1967, has published approximately 450 scholarly articles and book chapters. She has co-edited several books, including Technology Assessment in Education and Training (1994) and Testing and Cognition (1990). She served as president of the American Psychological Association's Educational Psychology Division.
An AERA member since 1967, Professor Baker has served this learned society in various positions. She now chairs AERA's Government Relations Committee and previously served as editor of AERA's peer-reviewed quarterly journal Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.
Among her other professional activities, Professor Baker co-chaired the 1999 revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, a joint project of AERA, American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education. She served on advisory groups overseeing evaluations of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act. She chaired the National Research Council's Board on Testing and Assessment and served as a member of the National Council on Education Standards and Testing, chairing the Assessment Task Force.
As a scientist and educator, Professor Baker maintains that quality assessment systems are key to education reform, provided they meet criteria including validity, fairness, and practicality. Her work aims to ensure that assessments are designed to support multiple users and adhere to psychometric requirements. As an education researcher, she has always worked on the boundaries between research and practice—applying her work to teacher preparation and the design of instructional programs for children.
Professor Baker's extensive international work includes studies of performance standards and national assessment policies for the Organization for Economic Co-Operations and Development and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Education Reform Project. She also has advised ministries and universities in the United Kingdom, Latin America, the Middle East, Australia, Europe, and Asia, and several international organizations.
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) represents approximately 22,700 educators who conduct research and evaluation in education. Founded in 1916 and based in Washington, D.C., AERA offers a comprehensive program of scholarly publications, professional development and fellowships, and meetings to advance education research, disseminate knowledge, and improve the capacity of the profession to serve the public good.
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