Neal Martin Kingston, Ph.D.
School of Education - Educational Psychology, Center for Educ Testing and EvaluationRoom 605A
Neal Kingston, Ph.D., came to the University of Kansas in 2006 and is a Professor in the Research, Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics Program and Director of the Achievement and Assessment Institute. His research focuses on large-scale assessment, with particular emphasis on how it can better support student learning. He is the principal investigator/director or co-principal investigator of several large research projects, including Design and Development of a Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessment, Kansas Assessment Program, Career Pathways Assessment System, and Development and Validation of Online Adaptive Reading Motivation Measures.
Dr. Kingston started his career as a high school science teacher. After graduate school, Dr. Kingston worked many years at Educational Testing Service as an applied psychometrician, measurement group manager, Director of Research, Test Development and New Testing Initiatives for the GRE Program, and Executive Director for Workplace Assessment and Training. As the former Kentucky Associate Commissioner for Curriculum and Assessment, Dr. Kingston was responsible for a statewide assessment system that included performance events and mathematics, writing, and alternate assessment portfolios. He worked on more than a dozen state assessment programs as vice president then senior vice president at Measured Progress. Prior to coming to the university of Kansas Dr. Kingston was Vice President of Research at CTB McGraw-Hill in which capacity he shared responsibility for ensuring that assessment products met educator needs.
Dr. Kingston specializes in measurement and research methodology.
Education
M.Phil., Educational Measurement, Teachers College, Columbia University
Ph.D., Educational Measurement, Teachers College, Columbia University
M.Ed., Educational Measurement, Teachers College, Columbia University
M.A., Psychology in Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
B.A., Liberal Studies (concentrations in Biology & Education), State University of New York
Teaching
Dr. Kingston’s teaching interest focus on developing large-scale assessments that better support student learning and on general research methods. He currently teaches an advanced graduate seminar on topics in educational measurement in the fall and a course on meta-analysis in the spring.
Courses:
EPSY 812: Meta-Analysis
EPSY 980: Advanced topics in Research, Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics
Teaching Interests
- Educational Measurement theory and practice
- Instructionally embedded assessment
- Learning maps
- Meta-analysis
Research
The focus of Dr. Kingston’s program of research is large-scale educational assessment. The contexts for this research can be broken down by population of interest – general, special education, and English language learners – and by purpose of assessment – formative, interim, and summative. Within each of these contexts Dr. Kingston is especially interested in enhancing the validity and utility of large-scale assessments to better support student learning.
Research Interests
- Large-scale assessment
- Computer-based testing
- Cognitive-diagnostic testing
- Learning maps
- Test development
- Score reporting
