At Curriculum Associates (CA), we believe a diverse team leads to diversity in thinking, making our products better for teachers and students. If you read this job description, feel energized by what you see here, and believe you could bring passion and commitment to the role, but you aren’t sure you meet every qualification, please apply! Above all, we are looking for the right person!

The Curriculum Associates Psychometric Summer 2024 Internships

About Curriculum Associates

Curriculum Associates is a rapidly growing educational technology and publishing company committed to making classrooms better places for teachers and students. Our assessments provide valuable feedback to teachers and students and are used to place students into individualized instructional paths.

About the Internships

Curriculum Associates offers two Psychometric Summer Internships:

Diagnostic and Instruction Research Internship: Conduct research to support the integration of formative i-Ready Instruction data with i-Ready Diagnostic data, to provide a more comprehensive view of a student’s knowledge and abilities. Research may help to inform future product decisions.

Operational Psychometrics Internship: Conduct operational psychometric analyses and/or research to support operational analyses for a computerized adaptive testing program. Work will support the operational assessment program.

The impact you'll have:

• Manipulate and analyze the large datasets (millions of records!) at Curriculum Associates. These data include some of the most extensive assessment and instructional data in the nation.

• Collaborate with other members of the assessment development, psychometrics, and research teams. Attend regular team meetings and work closely with experienced researchers.

• Gain experience with day-to-day operations as a researcher at an educational technology company. Experiences may include observing a Technical Advisory Committee meeting, collaborating with experts in other departments, presenting work at internal meetings, etc.

Research Project

Interns will focus on at least one major project. The project may be eligible for submission to a national conference at the end of the summer. Here are some examples of the types of projects that interns may work on in the future:

• Diagnostic and Instruction Research:

  • Estimate and evaluate item difficulties from a set of formative instruction data

  • Explore the impact of the calibration sample and/or equating approach on item parameters from formative instruction data

  • Apply and evaluate a measurement model that includes the Diagnostic and a series of formative instruction data to estimate student ability

• Operational Psychometrics

  • Conduct IRT and CTT item analyses to aid in decision making for the lifecycle of an item

  • Investigate and define the requirements of a representative equating sample for a computerized adaptive test (CAT) with a continuous field test design

  • Conduct an operational item bank analysis that informs future item development

  • Generate reliability and validity evidence in support of our technical documentation

  • Develop and evaluate a model for item difficulty modeling

The project an intern works on will be determined based on current research needs and intern interests.

Who we're looking for:

• Currently pursuing a doctorate in educational measurement, educational psychology, educational research, psychometrics, learning analytics, data science, or a related field. Candidates should have measurement-related coursework (i.e., classical test theory, item response theory) or applied measurement experience. Preference will be given to students with at least three years of doctoral-level coursework completed by the start of the internship.

• Must have a strong interest in research that impacts student learning and/or applied psychometrics.

• Preferred: Experience with data manipulation and analysis in R and/or SAS.

• Must be located within the US for the duration of the internship.

Logistics:

• Interns will work remotely for eight weeks during the summer, ideally from June 10, 2024 to August 2, 2024. Flexibility can be offered in the internship dates if needed.

• Interns will be considered part-time temporary employees of Curriculum Associates.

• Interns work 40 hours/week and will be paid $25 per hour (equivalent to $8,000 for 8 weeks).

Next Steps:

Please provide the following information in your application. Note, applications that do not include this information will not be considered.

• A cover letter indicating all the following:

  • the internship(s) you are interested in (Diagnostic and Instruction Research and/or Operational Psychometrics),

  • your current research interests, and

  • how your background and research interests align with the identified internship(s).

• A current resume / CV.

• An unofficial transcript.

Applications must be submitted by January 29, 2024 at 5pm ET to be considered. Application reviews will begin January 30th. Final selections will be made by March 1st.

Benefits and Pay Range:
Pay – This role’s base pay is $25.00/hour. The Company recognizes that minimum wage varies by location and will ensure all compensation decisions comply with applicable state and local laws.

Benefits – Temporary and per-diem employees who average at least 30 hours of work per week within the Company’s look-back period are eligible to enroll in medical coverage after 90 days of employment. Temporary and per-diem employees working more than 20 hours per week are eligible for twelve paid holidays. All temporary and per-diem employees are eligible for accrued sick time.