Jamal Abedi

Professor of Education                                                                                                                     
Phone: (530) 754-9150
Email: jabedi@ucdavis.edu

jamal Abedi, professor of education, is an expert in the “how to” of K-12 educational testing. He studies ways to make assessments more accessible to all students including English language learners and students with disabilities by examining variables that interfere with students’ ability to properly show what they know and are able to do..

Specializing in educational and psychological assessments, Abedi’s research focuses on testing for English language learners and issues concerning the technical characteristics and interpretations of these assessments.  Abedi is the author of many publications in the assessment of and accommodations for English-language learners. He is on the advisory committees for several major assessment organizations and advises a number of states on testing for English learners and children with disabilities.

Expertise
Assessment; Classical theory of measurement; English Learners; Experimental design; Psychometrics; Quantitative methods

Education

Ph.D., Psychology - (Psychometrics) - George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Nashville
Highlighted Publications

Abedi, J. (in press). Assessing English language learners and/or bilingual students: Critical issues (Chapter 3). In M. Basterra, G. Solano-Flores, and E. Trumbull (Eds.), Assessment, Language, and Culture: A Guide for Teachers. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Abedi, J. (in press). Classification system for English language learners: Issues and recommendations. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practices.
Abedi, J. (Ed.) (2007). English language proficiency assessment in the nation: Current status and future practice. Davis: University of California, School of Education.
Abedi, J. (2007). English language learners with disabilities. In C. Cahlan-Laitusis, & L. Cook (Eds.), Accommodating student with disabilities on state assessments: What works? Arlington, Virginia: Council for Exceptional Children.
Abedi, J. (2007). The No Child Left Behind Act and English language learners: Assessment and accountability issue. In O. Garcia, & C. Baker (Eds.), Bilingual Education An Introductory Reader (reprint from the journal of Educational Researcher. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, Ltd.
Abedi, J. (2007). Utilizing accommodations in the assessment of English language learners. In N. H. Homberger (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Science+ Business Media LLC.
Abedi, J. (2007). High-stakes tests, English language learners, and linguistic modification. Sunshine State TESOL Journal, 6(1), 1-20.
 

Awards and Honors

American Educational Research Professional Service Award: Outstanding Contribution Relating Research to Practice. 2003.