_z_archive

MESA Research

Research Centers

The national and international demand for sophisticated education researchers is reflected at Boston College through the two world renowned Lynch School of Education and Human Development and MESA‐affiliated research centers:

The Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation, and Educational Policy
CSTEEP conducts its work on both small and large scales, working with individual schools, districts, states, as well as countries to advance educational testing practices and policy, and to improve the quality and fairness of education.

The TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center
The TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center conducts comparative studies in educational achievement throughout the world. Principally, the Center directs two main efforts—Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)—under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.

MESA-Related Conferences

Students, faculty and alumni have the opportunity to present their research at a variety of conferences through professional organizations such as American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the New England Educational Research Organization (NEERO). Check out the MESA at AERA 2019 Booklet below.

Image of MESA at AERA 2019 Booklet cover page

MESA Internship Collaboration with CARPE in Dublin, Ireland

The Centre for Assessment Research Policy and Practice (CARPE), based at the Institute of Education, St Patrick’s Campus, was established to enhance the practice of assessment across all levels of the educational system, from early childhood to fourth level and beyond. Work at CARPE is focused on conducting high quality research and professional development in assessment, as well as establishing global networks and contributing to assessment policy making.

CARPE's research experience programme (REP) was set up to strengthen the ties between Boston College and Dublin City University. REP is designed to provide MESA students with an unforgettable professional and cultural experience during their doctoral studies. It offers an all-expense paid internship opportunity for PhD students to engage in workplace and education assessment. The selected intern works under the supervision of Professor Michael O'Leary, a MESA PhD alumnus.

This past summer, 2nd year doctoral student Olivia Szendey was selected as the 2019 CARPE intern. She reflects on her experience in the following: “I worked on two major projects, a literature review and a review of emerging assessment trends. Specifically, the literature review sought to synthesize existing research addressing digital architectures for use in technology-enhanced formative assessment. This project was apart of a larger Erasmus grant focused on developing a digital tool for formative assessment in STEM to be deployed in European Partner Countries.Through my review of emerging assessment trends I identified two particularly interesting ones- personalization of assessment and automatic item generation. I produced small summaries of those two trends for CARPE's funders, Prometric.

I had a wonderful time working at CARPE this summer, it provided me with an excellent opportunity to engage with researchers in the field and work on meaningful projects. In addition, I had a great time exploring Ireland on the weekends! ”