Susan Embretson has won the 2019 Career Award of the Psychometric Society. A professor in the School of Psychology, Embretson is the first woman to win the prestigious prize.

Psychometrics concerns the development of psychology as a quantitative rational science, including the advancement of theory and methodology for behavioral data analysis in psychology, education, and the social and behavioral sciences generally.

The award is for lifetime achievement. It honors individuals whose publications, presentations, and professional activities over a career have had widespread positive impact on the field. Nominees for the award must have demonstrated excellence in psychometric research over a minimum of 25 years.

Winners’ contributions include theoretical or methodological developments, applications of psychometric theory and methods, and innovative ideas that have significantly affected psychometric practices.

Embretson will receive the award during the 2019 annual international meeting of the Psychometric Society, on July 15-19, 2019, in Santiago, Chile. In that meeting, she will give a keynote lecture titled “Modeling Cognitive Processes, Skills and Strategies in Item Responses: Implications for Test and Item Design.”

“My interactions with colleagues at the Psychometric Society have greatly impacted the quality of my research,” Embretson says. “I feel very honored to receive this award.” 

Embretson’s research interests include explanatory item response theory models, automatic item generation, and dynamic measurement.

She has served as president of the Psychometric Society, the Society of Multivariate Psychology, and the American Psychological Association’s Division of Measurement, Evaluation & Statistics.

Recognition of her research on interfacing cognitive psychology with psychometric models includes the Saul Sells Award for Distinguished Multivariate Research, from the Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology, and the Career Contribution Award, from the National Council on Measurement in Education.