Susan Davis-Becker, Ph.D.
Founding Partner
Susan Davis-Becker is a Partner at ACS and specializes in strategic planning for new and re-designed exam programs with a goal to increase their efficiency and validity. She draws on more than twenty years of experience overseeing test development operations, audits, and evaluations for high-stakes, large-scale programs. She has directed and facilitated test development and evaluation activities for education and credentialing programs.
She received her Ph.D. in Assessment and Measurement and Master of Arts in Psychology from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Susan began her consulting career at the Oscar and Luella Buros Center for Testing where she collaborated on program evaluation activities in education and credentialing including an evaluation of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) program. After her tenure at Buros, Susan joined Alpine Testing Solutions and held a variety of roles including Director of Certification and Licensure where she led a team of psychometricians serving a variety of clients within the credentialing space. As a consultant to diverse programs, Susan has guided test design, development, and evaluation activities while contributing to program strategy, policies, and procedures.
Susan’s research focuses on the application of psychometric ideas and technological advances to practice in credentialing and education programs that are faced with unique challenges and seeking novel solutions. She enjoys collaborating with colleagues, clients, and innovators on opportunities to bridge theory and practice.
As a part of her professional contributions, Susan has served volunteer roles as a Board Member, Committee Chair, and Committee Member for organizations including the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME), the Association of Test Publishers (ATP), the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE), and ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB). She has conducted extensive research published in edited books, peer reviewed journals, and industry newsletters and served as the lead editor for the NCME-sponsored volume on credentialing.
Susan lives in Lincoln, NE with her husband and two sons. She and her boys enjoy kayaking, biking, and checking out the local libraries. She and her husband enjoy travelling the world and experiencing different cultures. As a Husker by marriage, she also takes in lots of college sporting events, especially the highly rated women’s volleyball team! In reality, most of her time is spent driving her kids to their various activities and watching them play the sports they love.
For a copy of Ms. Davis-Becker’s resume, click here.
Dr. Davis-Becker’s Selected Scholarly Research
Selected Publications/Presentations
Allen, C., Davis-Becker, S., & Moore, J. (2018, March). Removing Roadblocks and Clearing the Way for Accreditation Success: Part 2. Credentialing Insights: Institute for Credentialing Excellence.
Davis-Becker, S., & Muckle, T. (2017). Test design: Laying out the roadmap. In S. Davis-Becker & C. Buckendahl (Eds.). Testing in the professions: Credentialing policies and practice. New York, NY: Routledge.
Davis-Becker, S., & Zurn, J. (2016). Evaluating the use of custom simulation items: The good, the bad, and reality. Clear Exam Review, Winter 2015, 21-27.
Wolkowitz, A., & Davis-Becker, S. (2015). Evaluating common item block options when faced with practical constraints. Practical Assessment Research & Evaluation, 20(19).
Davis-Becker, S., & Kelly, J. (2015). Score Reporting: Where Policy meets Psychometrics. ICE White Paper.
Smith, R., Davis-Becker, S., & O’Leary, L. (2014). Combining the best of two standard setting methods: The ordered item booklet Angoff. Journal of Applied Testing Technology.
Davis-Becker, S., & Buckendahl, C. (2013). A proposed framework for evaluating alignment studies. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 23(1), 23-33.
Buckendahl, C. & Davis-Becker, S. (2012). Setting Passing Standards for Credentialing Programs. In G. Cizek (Ed.). Setting Performance Standards: Foundations, Methods, and Innovations (2nd Edition), 485-502.
Davis-Becker S., & Buckendahl, C. (2012). Identifying and Evaluating External Validity Evidence for Passing Scores. International Journal of Testing, 13(1), 50-64.
Selected Recent Presentations
Davis-Becker, S. (2022, April). How can we bring innovations into standard setting practice? Presentation delivered at the annual meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education. San Diego, CA.
Weiner, J., von Davier, A., Muckle, T., & Davis-Becker, S. (2022, March). Assuring measurement integrity in remote online assessment: New challenges and opportunities. Presentation delivered at the annual meeting of the Association of Test Publishers.
Ferrara, S., Davis-Becker, S., & Pelligrino, J. (2021, June). The recipe for a judgment: Unpacking how policy, content expertise, social influences, and cognitive processes impact standard setting judgments. Presentation delivered at the annual meeting of the Council of Chief State School Officers. Virtual.
Woo, A., Camara, W., Davis-Becker, S., Harris, W.G., Weiner, J., & Kleeman, J. (2021, March). Developing Successful and Impactful Assessment Products – Balancing Research and Business Considerations. Presentation delivered at the annual meeting of the National Council on Measurement in Education. Virtual.
Davis-Becker, S., & Buckendahl, C. (2020, October). Rubric Design Standard Setting Method. Presentation delivered at the annual meeting of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. Virtual.
Davis-Becker, S., & Sireci, S. (2019, October). But my psychometrician told me it was fine! Understanding psychometric standards and practice. Presentation delivered at the annual meeting of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. Virtual.
Mackey, P., Wiese, C., & Davis-Becker, S. (2019, September). SME’s: Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em. Presentation delivered at the CLEAR annual educational conference. Minneapolis, MN.