New York, NY, August 1999 - Professional Examination Service (PES) is pleased to announce the selection of Kevin Meara as the recipient of the 1999 Doctoral Fellowship Award in Applied Measurement. Established as part of the PES public service mission, the yearlong fellowship provides an opportunity for research on measurement and public-policy issues related to the development, validation, and use of licensure and certification examinations.

The fellowship will support Meara as he conducts a study in the Research and Evaluation Methods Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Working under the direction of Ronald K. Hambleton, Ph.D., Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Research and Evaluation Methods Program, and Stephen Sireci, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the university, Meara will study advances in setting passing scores for licensure and certification examinations. Meara's research will involve an extensive review of the literature on standard setting for credentialing purposes, in order to identify new methods of standard setting and approaches to validating passing scores. In addition, Meara will implement a survey of major credentialing organizations to determine their standard setting practices and current concerns, as well as their approaches to validating standards. Setting fair and reliable passing scores has a critical impact on the validity of a credentialing examination, and Meara's research will provide a valuable synthesis and review of recent advances in standard setting methods.

Meara received a bachelor's degree in Psychology and Architecture from Washington University in 1991, and entered the Educational Research and Evaluation Methods Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1996. He currently holds the prestigious GRE Warren W. Willingham Graduate Research Assistantship, sponsored by the Educational Testing Service; and he has held both research and teaching assistantships at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Meara has published research papers related to the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the Medical College Admissions Test, and has presented his research at the annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education.

Submissions for the award were judged by a panel of three nationally recognized measurement experts: Brian E. Clauser, Ed.D., Senior Psychometrician at the National Board of Medical Examiners, and recipient of the 1998 PES Award for Scientific Contributions to Credentialing; Michael T. Kane, Ph.D., Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin; and David Paulson, Ph.D., Manager, Testing Services, Florida State Department of Health.

Professional Examination Service is a nonprofit testing organization whose mission is to promote the understanding and use of sound credentialing practices. PES achieves its mission by providing comprehensive services and making contributions to credentialing stakeholders in the areas of assessment practice, educational activities, scientific research, and policy development.