Chair, Research and Evaluation Methodology Program
Assistant Professor of Education
School of Education, Room 211
University of Colorado at Boulder
249 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309
Phone: 303-492-6320
Fax: 303-492-7090
E-mail: derek.briggs@colorado.edu
Website: http://spot.colorado.edu/~briggsd

Derek Briggs is chair of the Research and Evaluation Methodology Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he also serves as an assistant professor of quantitative methods and policy analysis. His research agenda focuses upon building sound methodological approaches for the valid measurement and evaluation of growth in student achievement. Examples of his research interests in the area of educational measurement include (1) characterizing the gap between validity theory and practice in the context of high-stakes standardized testing, and (2) developing IRT models capable of measuring complex learning trajectories. Examples of research interests in applied statistics include critical analysis of the statistical models used to make causal inferences about the effects of teachers, schools and other educational interventions on the growth of student achievement.

Some of his recent publications include "Diagnostic Assessment with Ordered Multible-Choice Items," Educational Assessment, "Causal Inference and the Heckman Model," Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statisics; "Meta-Analyis: A Case Study," Evaluation Review, and "An Introduction to Multidimensional Measurement," Journal of Applied Measurement.  He teaches courses in educational measurement and statistics.

Dr. Briggs is a member of numerous professional organizations. He has given research presentations at the annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association, the National Council on Measurement in Education, and the Pyschometric Society, as well as at places such as the National Research Council, The College Board, Educational Testing Service, RAND, and the University of California (Berkeley, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara).

Education:
PhD Education, University of California, Berkeley 2002
MA Education, University of California, Berkeley 1998
BA Economics, Carleton College 1993