Katherine Ryan

Activities & Honors

• A++ Award: Advocacy, Activism, and Advancement, 2012 College of Education Graduate Student Conference, College of Education, 2012- present
• Associate Editor, American Journal of Evaluation, 2005-2010
• University Fellow, Center for Democracy in a Multiracial Society, 2005-2006, Center for Democracy in a Multiracial Society, 2005-2006

Research Statement

My research interests focus on educational evaluation and the intersection of educational accountability issues and high stakes assessment. As educational accountability has become increasingly more important nationally and globally, my work has examined both evaluative capacity building and monitoring issues involved in test-based educational accountability. My current research includes an investigation of the intended and unintended consequences of a state-wide assessment and accountability system in relationship to students, instruction, and educational outcomes.

Grants

• Co-Principal Investigator, Assessing Complex Performance: A Postdoctoral Training Program Researching Students Writing and Assessment in Digital Workspaces, Institute of Education Sciences, 2011-2014
• Principal Investigator, External Review of the ISBE Large Scale Assessment and Accountability System, Illinois State Board of Education, 2008-2013
• Principal Investigator, Stereotype Threat and Math Test Performance Pilot Study, The Spencer Foundation, 2004-2007
• Co-Principal Investigator, Forging Community Partnerships to address the C-U Achievement Gap , , 2003-2004

Publications

• Ryan, K.E., & Slater Gannon, N., Culbertson, M. (2012). Improving survey methods with cognitive interviews in small- and medium-scale evaluations, American Journal of Evaluation, 33(3), 414-430.
• Samuels, M. & Ryan, K. E. (2011). Grounding evaluations in culture, American Journal of Evaluation, 32(2), 183-198.
• Hall, J. & Ryan, K.E. (2011). Educational accountability: A qualitatively-driven mixed methods approach, Qualitative Inquiry, 17(1), 105-115.
• Ryan, K. E., & Feller, I. (2009). Evaluation, accountability and performance measurement in national education systems: Trends, methods, and issues. In K. E. Ryan & J. B. Cousins (Eds.), Sage international handbook of educational evaluation (pp. 171-190). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Ryan, K. E., & Shepard, L. A. (Eds.). (2008). The future of test-based educational accountability. Oxford, UK: Taylor Francis Publishing.
• Ryan, K. E. (2002). Shaping educational accountability systems. American Journal of Evaluation, 23(4), 453-468.
• Ryan, K. E. (2002). Assessment validation in the context of high-stakes assessment. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practices, 21(1), 7-15.
• Ryan, K. E., & Chui, S. (2001). An examination of item context effects, DIF, and gender DIF. Applied Measurement in Education, 14(1), 73-90.
• Ryan, K. & DeStefano, L. (2000). Disentangling dialogue: Issues from practice. In K. Ryan & L. DeStefano (Eds.), Evaluation as a democratic process: Promoting deliberation, dialogue, and inclusion (pp. 63-76). New Directions for Evaluation, 85, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Ryan, K. E., & DeStefano, L. (Eds.). (2000). Evaluation as a democratic process: Promoting deliberation, dialogue, and inclusion. New Directions for Evaluation, 85. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Links

• NCLB policy implementation evaluation

In The News

College announces promotions of faculty, staff Oct. 30, 2012 At the College's fall faculty meeting held earlier this month, unit leaders announced changes of status and key accomplishments within their respective units. In addition, four faculty members from the College of Education have received promotions effective this academic year. Read more...