Shavelson, Rich
Academic Title
Other Titles
Margaret Jacks Professor of Education
Professor of Psychology (by courtesy)
Affiliated Faculty, Stanford Institute for the Environment
Contact Info
Program Affiliations
Research
His current work focuses on the design of assessments and assessment systems that measure college students learning, both their development of competence/ achievement and so-called “soft-skills” such as perspective taking. He co-created the Collegiate Learning Assessment with Steve Klein and built statistical models for estimating value added for the CLA and other college-level assessments. This work is summarized in Measuring College Student Learning: Accountability in a New Era (2010, Stanford University Press) and in recent papers on the measurement and statistical modeling of competence.
Assessment of learning in higher education (including the Collegiate Learning Assessment); accountability in higher education; higher education policy.
Quote
"Achievement scores fit the American belief in a single dimension of ability that distinguishes winners from losers . . . [but] over-measurement in K-12 education has sent the wrong signals to teachers and students . . . [and] the tests work against what many people value as education, which is far broader than what is currently measured and rewarded or punished."
Education
- PhD (Educational Psychology), Stanford University, 1971
- MA (Psychology), San Jose State College, 1967
- BA (Psychology), University of Oregon, 1964
Time at Stanford
Since 1995
I James Quillan Dean, School of Education (1995 - 2000)
Professor, School of Education (1995 - )
Professor (by courtesy), Department of Psychology, School of Humanities and Sciences (1995 - )
Fellow and/or Affiliated Faculty, Woods Institute for the Environment (2004 - )
Professional Experience
Assistant Professor of Education, UCLA (1973-1975)
Associate Professor of Education, UCLA (1975-1979); Professor of Education, UCLA (1979-1987)
Dean, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara (1987-1993)
Professor of Education, UCSB (1987-1996) with an affiliated appointment in Statistics and Applied Probability (1993-1996)
Courses Taught
- Introduction to Statistical Methods in Education (Education 160)
- Statistical Analysis in Educational Research: Analysis of Variance (Ed 250B)
- First-Year Doctoral Seminar: Introduction to Research (Ed 311X)
- Research in Progress: Curriculum and Teacher Education (Ed 444X)
- Curriculum and Instruction in Science (Ed 267B)
- Educational Evaluation (Ed 232C)
- Issues in the Design of Educational Research (Ed 254)
- Human Abilities (Ed 255/Psy 133/Human Biology 158)
- Technology-Based Student Assessment (Ed 334X)
- Assessment and Accountability in Higher Education (Ed 349X)
- Generalizability Theory (Ed 353C)
- Seminar in Math and Science Education: Evaluation and Assessment (Ed359A)
- Introduction to Research in Curriculum and Teacher Education (Ed 424)
Recent Publications
Shavelson, R.J. (2010). Measuring college learning responsibly: Accountability in a new era. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Yuan, K., Shavelson, R., Alonzo, A., & Steedle, J. (2008). Strengthening mental muscles. Saarbrücken, Germany: VDM Verlag.
Shavelson, R.J. (2007). A brief history of student learning: How we got where we are and a proposal for where to go next. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities’ The Academy in Transition.
Schneider, B., Carnoy, M., Kilpartick, J., Schmidt, W.H., & Shavelson, R.J. (2007). Estimating causal effects: Using experimental and observational designs. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Shavelson, R.J., Klein, S., & Benjamin, R. (2009 October 16). The limitations of portfolios. Inside Higher Education. http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2009/10/16/shavelson
Shavelson, R.J. (2009). Lee J. Cronbach 1916-2001: A biographical memoir. Biographical Memoirs, volume XX. Washington, DC: National Academy Press
Steedle, J.T., & Shavelson, R.J. (2009). Supporting Valid Interpretations of Learning Progression Level Diagnoses. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(6), 699-715.
Camargo, C., & Shavelson, R. (2009) Direct measures in environmental education evaluation: Behavioral intentions versus observable actions. Applied Environmental Education and Communication, 8, 1–9.
Shavelson, R.J., & Webb, N.M. (2009). Generalizability theory and its contribution to the discussion of the generalizability of research findings. In K. Ercikan & W-M Roth (Eds.), Generalizing from educational research: Beyond qualitative and quantitative polarization. New York: Routledge, PP. 13-32.
Shavelson, R.J. (2008). Reflections on quantitative reasoning: An assessment perspective. In B.L. Madison & L.A. Steen (Eds.), Calculation vs. context: Quantitative literacy and its implications for teacher education. Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America.
Shavelson, R.J. (2008b) The Collegiate Learning Assessment. Forum for the Future of Higher Education: Ford Policy Forum, pp. 18-24.Cambridge, MA.
Shavelson, R.J. (2008c). The Spellings Commission report on the Collegiate Learning Assessment. Forum for the future of higher education., pp. 35-38. Cambridge, MA.
Srinivasan, M., McElvany, M., Shay, J.M., Shavelson, R.J., & West, D.C. (2008). Measuring Knowledge Structure: Reliability of Concept Mapping Assessment in Medical Education. Academic Medicine, 83(12), 1196-1203..
Klein, S., Freedman, D., Shavelson, R., & Bolus, R. (2008). Assessing school effectiveness. Evaluation Review, 32, 511-525.
Borko, H., Roberts, S.A., & Shavelson, R.J. (2008). Teachers’ decision making: from Alan J. Bishop to today. In P. Clarkson & N. Presmeg (Eds,), Critical issues in mathematics education: Major contributions of Alan Bishop. NY: Springer
Yin, Y., & Shavelson, R.J. (2008). Application of Generalizability Theory to Concept Map Assessment Research. Applied Measurement in Education. 21(3), 273 - 291
Current Activities
Board Member, The Spencer Foundation
Board Member, BSCS (formerly Biological Sciences Curriculum Study)
Education Advisory Council (Chair), NatureBridge
