October 1-2, 2018 • ucla luskin conference center

Monday, Oct. 1, 2018

  • 7:00 AM
    Networking Breakfast
  • 8:30 AM
    Introduction to CRESSTCON'18

    Li Cai, Director, Professor of Education and Psychology, UCLA CRESST and GSE&IS

  • 8:35 AM
    Keynote Speaker: Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, Wasserman Dean, UCLA GSE&IS

    Children of Immigration 

    In the twenty-first century, immigration is the human face of globalization: the sounds, colors, and scents of a miniaturized, interconnected, and fragile world. According to the United Nations, in 2017 there were approximately 258 million international migrants, upward of 760 million internal migrants and millions more kith and kin left behind. The largest international corridors of human migration today are in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Mass migration is generating a deep demographic transformation—giving rise to the children of immigrants as the fastest growing sector of the child and youth population in a number of high and middle-income countries across the world. The US —  a country where immigration is at once history and destiny is a case in point: over 25 percent of children under the age of 18, a total of 18.7 million children, have an immigrant parent. Furthermore, a quarter of children in countries associated with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) come from immigrant homes. In Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, two-thirds of the children biking to school this morning are the children of immigrants and refugees. In Berlin the number is approximately 40 percent. In NYC half the children in school come from immigrant homes.  In California, over half of children who will walk through the classroom door tomorrow live in immigrant headed households. If the 20th century was the century of mass migrations, the twenty-first century will be the century of the children of immigrants — their schooling, their identities, their job prospects, their citizenship and well-being. In this presentation, first, I will review the most recent data on major global migratory flows. Second, I turn to the data specifically pertinent to children and youth and their transitions to new societies. Third, I will offer some reflections on mass migration’s opportunities and challenges to the defining institutions of our society with a focus on schools.

  • 9:35 AM
    Break
  • 9:45 AM
    Plenary Session: Accelerating Excellence and Equity: Challenges and Solutions

    In this plenary session, panelists will discuss how to prepare kids for success in school and in life by fostering and accelerating educational excellence and ensuring equal access to quality educational opportunities.

    Eva Baker, CRESST Founding Director and Distinguished Professor Emerita, UCLA GSE&IS

    Kim Gomez, Professor, UCLA GSE&IS

    Mary Hewitt, Executive Director, Los Angeles County Alliance for Boys & Girls Clubs

    David Lowenstein, Senior Director of the CPB-PBS Ready To Learn Initiative, Session Moderator

  • 11:00 AM
    Keynote Speaker: Bror Saxberg, Vice President, Learning Science at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI)

    Learning Engineering: The Art of Applying Evidence-Based Learning at Scale

    Too often, learning environments at scale are designed around how we wish learning worked. Unfortunately, learning, like human biology, is an inconveniently designed system. It requires real effort to help designers become able to apply what’s known about learning and evidence-gathering about learning at scale – and we need this to help learners at all ages deal more reliably with ever-changing work contexts.

  • 12:00 PM
    Lunch
  • 1:30 PM
    Concurrent Breakout Sessions

    Social Emotional Learning as the New Frontier: Frameworks, Measurement, and Interventions

    In this session, our presenters will share results from the latest research on SEL including work from interventions that also serve as opportunities for formative assessment (Berlinski), data from multiple reporters of SEL (Buckley), descriptives highlighting racial/ethnic differences in feelings of belonging in school (Graham), and a framework for game-based assessment of SEL for young children (Schenke).

    Presenters: Jessica Berlinski (Ripple Effects), Katie Buckley (Transforming Education), Sandra Graham (UCLA GSE&IS), Katerina Schenke (UCLA CRESST)

    Downloadable Presentations:

    Jessica Berlinski

    Katie Buckley

    Sandra Graham

    Katerina Schenke

    Identifying English Learners: The ELPA21 Dynamic Screener

    This session will describe efforts to develop an efficient and accurate test used for the initial identification of students who are potential English learners in eight states of the English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21). This is a high-stakes test — determining students’ eligibility for English language development services — and ELPA21’s online screener has broken the mold of legacy screeners in states.

    Presenters: Mark Hansen (UCLA CRESST), EunHee Keum (UCLA CRESST), Michelle McCoy (ELPA21), Cat Still (ELPA21), Kara Schlosser (ELPA21) as discussant

    Technology in Instruction and Assessment

    This breakout session will focus on the analysis, interpretation, and modeling of multimodal educational assessment data and its use to inform instruction. Technology is the common denominator that allows for the mining and fusion of data from different sources, providing inferences from student behavior. The reliability of software algorithms and models can complement human common-sense and bigger picture assessment ratings. Our session speakers will share on these topics, describing their work, insights, challenges and the road ahead.

    Presenters: Adnan Darwiche (UCLA CS), Jennie Grammer (UCLA GSE&IS), Markus Iseli (UCLA CRESST), Rajesh Jha (SimInsights), Terry Vendlinski (TVATE) as discussant

    Telemetry Data and Applications (Structured Poster Session)

    This structured poster session will present current R&D on the use of telemetry (or process data) in games and simulations for learning and measurement purposes. The session will open with brief remarks by the organizer (Chung), followed by the opportunity for the audience to engage in in-depth discussions with presenters. A range of topics is covered — the design of telemetry systems, the processing and analysis of telemetry data, using telemetry data in adaptive systems, and using telemetry data for measurement purposes. The set of work illustrates innovative applications spanning different ages, content, disciplines, and methodological approaches.

    Presenters: Greg Chung (UCLA CRESST), Teanna Feng (UCLA CRESST), Jina Kang (Utah State), Alan Koenig (UCLA CRESST), Anna Lee (UCLA CRESST), Thomas Maierhofer (UCLA CRESST), Betsy McCarthy (WestEd), Elizabeth Owen (Age of Learning Inc.), Charles Parks (UCLA CRESST), Elizabeth Redman (UCLA CRESST), Manie Tadayon (UCLA/Electrical and Computer Engineering)

    Downloadable Posters:

    Teanna Feng Jina Kang

    Alan Koenig Anna Lee

    Thomas Maierhofer

    Betsy McCarthy Elizabeth Owen

    Charles Parks Manie Tadayon

  • 3:00 PM
    Concurrent Breakout Sessions

    Understanding Simulation and Gameplay Data

    This session will highlight research that pushes forward on the frontiers of learning and assessment by using technology to capture and analyze data in new and unobtrusive ways. Participants will discuss ways to capitalize and build on the possibilities of using telemetry to make current assessment, evaluation, and data-driven decisions more efficient, data rich, and adaptive. With innovative games and simulations that support future learning, participants will demonstrate how this work is making significant contributions to the national research and development agenda.

    Presenters: Girlie Delacruz (LRNG), David Feldon (Utah State),Jenny Kao (UCLA CRESST), John Lee (UCLA CRESST)

    STEM & Equity

    This session will provide multiple perspectives on connections between equity and STEM.  In particular, presenters will explore how they conceptualize the notion of equity (specifically in the area of STEM/STEM-based initiatives) and how it guides them in their work.

    Presenters: Roxana Hadad (Northeastern Illinois University), Imelda Nava (Center X/TEP/UCLA), Christine Ong (UCLA CRESST)

    Downloadable Presentations:

    Roxana Hadad

    Innovations in Statistical Methodology and Psychometrics

    In this session, the presenters will cover recent developments in latent variable modeling, multilevel modeling, and computational approaches to the analysis of data from educational assessment and evaluation studies. Topics include multidimensional item response theory, Bayesian hierarchical models, and deep learning.

    Presenters: Li Cai (UCLA CRESST), Kilchan Choi (UCLA CRESST), MJ Jeon (UCLA GSE&IS), Ying Nian Wu (UCLA)

  • 4:30 PM
    Innovation Showcase

    The Innovation Showcase will feature designers, researchers, and practitioners who will demo their latest tech and research and present scientific posters.

    The universities and organizations showcasing their work include SimInsights, Khan Academy, Virginia Tech, Educational Testing Service, UC Davis, Twin Cities PBS, UC Irvine, Age of Learning Inc., UCLA, ACT & Smart Sparrow, ACTNext by ACT, ClassCalc, EDC, SRI, PBS KIDS, University of Helsinki, USC, Sim Center, Office of Naval Research, Naval Education and Training Command, SonoSim, and UCLA CRESST.

Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018

  • 7:00 AM
    Networking Breakfast
  • 8:30 AM
    Introduction: Applying What We Know

    Li Cai, Director, Professor of Education and Psychology, UCLA CRESST and GSE&IS

  • 8:40 AM
    Plenary Session: Current Practices in Evaluation and Assessment in China

    In this plenary session, panelists from Beijing Normal University will discuss contemporary issues related to technology, assessment and evaluation in China.

    Li Yanfang will present The Status of Chinese Primary School Music Teachers and their Influences on Student’s Music Learning, which reports on a large-scale assessment of elementary school music instructors and the effects of teacher demographics, attitudes, and experience on student music interests and achievement.

    Luo Liang will present Report on the Quality of Compulsory Education in China—Key Findings from The National Assessment Of Educational Quality(2015-2017), which focuses on Grade 4 and Grade 8 students, evaluating student achievement in Chinese, mathematics, science, art, moral education and physical health.

    Xin Tao will present Accurate Monitoring of Education Quality: Use Technology to Support Education Assessment in China, which provides insight into the various testing techniques used to support accurate monitoring of the quality of China’s education such as voice recognition technology, human-computer interaction technology, and music electronization.

  • 9:50 AM
    Break
  • 10:00 AM
    Concurrent Breakout Sessions

    Improving Statistical Methods in Social Science Research

    In this breakout session, graduate student researchers the in Social Research Methodology program at UCLA will present their current work that contributes to advances in psychometrics and quantitative research. Practical guidance to the projects in CRESST, such as the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium and the English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21), and theoretical development in general will be discussed.

    Presenters: Seungwon Chung (UCLA GSE&IS), Sijia Huang (UCLA GSE&IS), Meredith Langi (UCLA GSE&IS), Yon Soo Suh (UCLA GSE&IS)

    Innovations in Early Childhood Instruction and Assessment

    This session will showcase research focused on technology in the instruction and assessment of young children. From digital games to innovative in-school curriculum, our presenters will share their expertise and research in this exciting and evolving arena.

    Presenters: Naomi Hupert (EDC), Elizabeth Redman (UCLA CRESST), Jeremy Roberts (PBS KIDS), Rosa Serratore (SMMUSD), Phil Vahey (SRI) as discussant

    Downloadable Presentations:

    Elizabeth Redman

    Jeremy Roberts

    Rosa Serratore

    Assessment Design and Practice

    This session focuses on assessment design and practice for understanding and improving the quality of education and training. The speakers will present on a broad range of topics and approaches. Sandy Chang will present on her work on assessment system design focusing on teacher formative assessment practices. Rebecca Kantar will present recent work on game-based assessments for employment decisions. Jessica Andrews Todd will present current research on collaborative problem solving in online settings, and Harry O’Neil will identify common themes and issues related to assessment design, validity, and equity.

    Presenters: Sandy Chang (CRESST), Rebecca Kantar (Imbellus), Harry O’Neil (USC), Jessica Andrews Todd (ETS), Eva Baker (CRESST) as discussant

    Downloadable Presentations:

    Sandy Chang

    Harry O’Neil

    Jessica Todd

    Evaluation for Excellence and Equity

    Evaluation is the vital key for increasing and improving learning and effectiveness in evidence-based practice. This session will cover a variety of evaluation approaches in a range of contexts, including K-12, higher education, and teacher preparation.

    Presenters: Marc Levis-Fitzgerald (UCLA Center for Educational Assessment), Julia Phelan (UCLA CRESST), Karen Hunter Quartz (Center X), Jia Wang (UCLA CRESST)

  • 11:25 AM
    Break
  • 11:40 AM
    Plenary Session: Equity and Excellence in International Assessment

    In this plenary session, panelists will discusses assessment from an international perspective, particularly examining issues of equity in assessment. Panelists will join us from Finland, China, Chile, and Korea.

    Panelists: Jimin Cho (KICE), Heidi Harju-Luukkainen (Univeristy of Helskinki), Leonor Varas (University of Chile), Xin Tao (BNU), Li Cai (UCLA CRESST) as session moderator

  • 12:55 PM
    Conference Closing Remarks
  • 1:00 PM
    Lunch
  • 2:30 PM
    Robert L. Linn Memorial Lecture: Dr. Xin Tao of Beijing Normal University

    This year’s awardee, Professor Xin Tao, is one of the foremost educational assessment and policy researchers in China, having played a major role in designing the National Assessment of Education Quality – colloquially referred to as NAEP’s Chinese cousin in the assessment research community – and been in the leadership position of the Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality, located at Beijing Normal University.

    In this lecture, Professor Xin will discuss the development of modern educational assessment in China, the implementation of large-scale assessment studies in support of educational reform, and policy research to bridge the equity, access, and achievement gap as the country’s economy further advances into the 21st century.

  • 4:15 PM
    Robert L. Linn Memorial Lecture Closing Remarks

    Li Cai, Director, Professor of Education and Psychology, UCLA CRESST and GSE&IS