Most students in the Assessment and Measurement Doctoral program have assistantships through the Center for Assessment and Research Studies (CARS). Through these assistantships, students gain valuable real-world experience in various aspects of assessment design and measurement techniques.

Please take time to review student testimonials

Jon Henriques

Jon Henriques (he/him/his) - First Year Student - Joint MA/PhD Program
Advisor: Dr. Brian Leventhal
Education: Undergraduate degree: James Madison University, B.S. Psychology and Math, Honors Minor, 2023 
Research Interests: Low Motivation in Testing, Cognitive Assessments

Josiah Hunsberger

Josiah Hunsberger (he/him/his) - First Year Student
Advisor: Dr. Brian Leventhal
Education: Undergraduate degree: Liberty University, B.S. Psychology (Counseling Concentration), 2020
Graduate degree: James Madison University, M.A. Psychological Sciences- Quantitative, 2023 
Research Interests:  Item Response Theory (IRT), Item Response Trees (IRTrees), Differential Item Functioning (DIF)

Mara McFadden

Mara McFadden (she/her/hers) - First Year Student
Advisor: Dr. Joseph Kush
Education: Undergraduate degree: Christopher Newport University, B.A. Psychology, 2021
Graduate degree: James Madison University, M.A. Psychological Sciences- Quantitative Concentration, 2023
Research Interests: Quasi-Experimental Methods, Motivation in Low-Stakes Contexts, Equitable Assessment

Autumn Wild

Autumn Wild (she/her/hers) - First Year Student 
Advisor: Dr. Joseph Kush
Education: Undergraduate Degree: James Madison University, B.S. Psychology, 2019
Graduate degree: James Madison University, M.A. Psychological Sciences- Applied, 2023 
Research Interests: Quasi-Experimental Methods, Measurement Invariance

Riley Herr

Riley Herr (she/her/hers) - Second Year Student Second Year Student: Joint MA/PhD Program 
Advisor: Dr. John Hathcoat 
Education: Undergraduate degree: James Madison University, B.S. Psychology, 2022 
Research Interests: Validity Theory, Mixed Methods Research, Test Development and Validation

 Kate Schaefer

Kate Schaefer (she/her/hers) - Second Year Student 
Advisor: Dr. Sara Finney 
Education: Undergraduate degree: University of Mary Washington, B.S. Psychology, minor French, 2016, Graduate degree: James Madison University, M.A. Psychological Sciences-Quantitative Concentration, 2022 
Research Interests:  Identifying Low Motivation, Interventions to Increase Low Motivation, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)

Kelsey Nason

Kelsey Nason (she/her/hers) - Second Year Student 
Advisor: Dr. Christine DeMars 
Education: Undergraduate degree: Bachelor of the Arts in Psychology and English Literature from Franklin and Marshall College 2020, Graduate degree: Master of the Arts in English Literature from University of Virginia 2022 
Research Interests: Item Response Theory (IRT), Motivation in Low-Stakes Contexts

Laura Lambert

Laura Lambert (she/her/hers) - Second Year Student 
Advisor: Dr. Megan Good 
Education: Undergraduate degree: Biology (BS), University of Virginia, 2008
Graduate degrees: Secondary ed (MAT), James Madison University, 2010; Human Genetics (MS), Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015 
Research Interests: Learning improvement, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Assessment, Program Theory

Stephanie LeRoy

Stephanie LeRoy (she/her/hers/they/them/theirs) - Third Year Student: Joint MA/PhD Program
Advisor: Dr. Christine DeMars 
Education:Undergraduate degree: Christopher Newport University, B.S. Psychology, 2020, Graduate degree: James Madison University, M.A. Psychological Sciences- Quantitative Concentration, 2023 
Research Interests: Item Response Theory, Bayesian Statistics

Nicholas Mireles

Nicolas Mireles (he/him/his) - Third Year Student 
Advisor: Dr. Yu Bao 
Education: Undergraduate degree: East Tennessee State University, B.S. Psychology, 2018
Graduate degree: University of Texas at San Antonio, M.S. Experimental Psychology, 2020 
Research Interests: Diagnostic Classification Modeling, Culturally Responsive Assessment, Student Engagement

Yelisey Shapovalov

Yelisey Shapovalov (he/him/his) - Third Year Student 
Advisor: Dr. John Hathcoat 
Education: Undergraduate degree: Eastern Mennonite University, B.S. Psychology and Sociology, 2019
Graduate degree: James Madison University, M.A. Psychological Sciences- Quantitative Concentration, 2021 
Research Interests: Licensure and Certification Testing, Classroom Assessment, Many Facets Rasch Measurement

Sarah Alahmadi

Sarah Alahmadi (she/her/hers) - Fourth Year Student 
Advisor: Dr. Christine DeMars 
Education: Undergraduate degree: University of Virginia, B.A. Psychology, 2016, Graduate degree: Villanova University, M.S. Experimental Psychology, 2020 
Research Interests: Test Fairness, Item Response Theory (IRT), Standard Setting

Sean York

Sean York - Fifth Year Student 
Advisor: Dr. Dena Pastor 
Education: Undergraduate degree: Northwestern University, B.S. Radio/Television/Film, 1993
Graduate degree: Indiana University Bloomington, M.S.Ed. Instructional Systems Technology, 2011 
Research Interests: Scenario-Based Assessment for Critical Thinking and Humanities, Systems Approach to Assessment, Intersections of Assessment and Learning Design, Continuous, Fine-grained Assessment for Non-traditional Programs

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