Rate My Professor Stephen Dunbar

In 2019, Dunbar was honored with the Regents Faculty and Staff Excellence Award for his extraordinary contributions and sustained record of excellence. As certificate coordinator, he designed the University of Iowa's new undergraduate certificate in education data analytics, set to launch in Spring 2026, aimed at building educators' data literacy for analyzing classroom data and digital learning tools to inform instructional decisions. His research specializations encompass psychometric issues such as item response theory, differential item functioning, performance-based assessment, high-stakes testing validity, and structural equation modeling. Key publications include 'Quality Control in the Development and Use of Performance Assessments' (1991), 'Complex, Performance-Based Assessment: Expectations and Validation Criteria' (1991), 'Issues in the Design and Reporting of the National Assessment of Educational Progress' (1992), 'A Comparison of Item Fit Statistics for Mixed IRT Models' (2010), and 'Response Time for English Learners on Large-Scale Writing Assessments' (2025, co-authored with Catherine Welch). Dunbar's influential work has shaped national and international standards in educational measurement and assessment.