Dr. Michael Timms directs the Division of Assessment and Psychometric Research at
ACER, which develops high quality assessments and conducts cutting edge research in
educational measurement. He is highly experienced in running educational research and
development projects and is a recognized leader in the development of innovative ways to
assess students in electronic-learning environments. His research is widely published in
peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at many conferences. 

Prior to joining ACER, Dr. Timms was Associate Director of the Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Program at WestEd, a preeminent educational research
and development organization in the United States. He led large-scale research studies in
STEM education, with special focus on computer-based assessment projects, especially
through the SimScientists research program (www.simscientists.org). He has been involved
in the development of two assessment frameworks for the US National Assessment of
Educational Progress for which he was awarded the Paul Hood award for excellence in
educational research at WestEd. 

Dr. Timms has experience in leading evaluation research projects for other educational
research grant recipients, such as universities, and has managed large scale item
development projects across many content areas. He is knowledgeable about the education
systems of Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Student and Teacher Assessment

Link

The Career Preparation Assessment (Tailored Versions): Results and Analyses from the 1998-1999 Cohort (with D McLaughlin, C Smorodin, and T Smorodin) (2010)

A study was conducted to determine how the Career Preparation Assessment portfolio (CPA), tailored to...

A Framework for Analyzing Scientific Reasoning in Assessments (with Nathaniel J S Brown, Sam O. Nagashima, Alice Fu, and Mark Wilson), Educational Assessment (2010)

The Evidence-Based Reasoning Assessment System (EBRAS) brings together advances in mod- eling scientific reasoning and...

The Evidence-Based Reasoning Framework: Assessing Scientific Reasoning (with Nathaniel J S Brown, Erin M. Furtak, Sam O. Nagashima, and Mark Wilson), Educational Assessment (2010)

Recent science education reforms have emphasized the importance of students engaging with and reasoning from...

A Framework for The Using Evidence Framework: A Model of Scientific Reasoning (with N J S Brown, S O. Nagashima, and M Wilson), Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (2008)

Link

The nature and impact of teachers’ formative assessment practices (with J L. Herman, E O. Osmundson, C Ayala, and S Schneider) (2006)

Theory and research suggest the critical role that formative assessment can play in student learning....

Assessment in eLearning

Science assessments for all : integrating science simulations into balanced state science assessment systems (with Edys S. Quellmalz, Matt D. Silberglitt, and Barbara C. Buckley), Journal of Research in Science Teaching (2012)

This article reports on the collaboration of six states to study how simulation-based science assessments...

Link

21st Century Dynamic Assessment (with E S. Quellmalz, B C. Buckley, J Davenport, M Loveland, and M D. Silberglitt), Technology-Based Assessments for 21st Century Skills:Theoretical and Practical Implications from Modern Research (2012)

Calipers II: Using Simulations to Assess Complex Science Learning, Presentation in a panel on Diagnostic Assessments at the Discovery Research in K-12 Education Principal Investigators’ Annual Conference (2010)

The promise of simulation-based science assessment: the Calipers project (with E S. Quellmalz and B C. Buckley), International Journal of Learning Technology (2010)

The Calipers project developed and studied a new generation of simulation-based assessment systems. The project...

Student Learning in Science Simulations. What Makes a Difference? (with K Scalise, L Clark, and A Moorjani), Paper presented at the Session on “Conversation, Argumentation, and Engagement in Science Learning,” Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association (2009)

Assessment Standards

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Technology and Engineering Literacy Assessment and Item Specifications for the 2014 NAEP (with E S. Quellmalz), Invited presentation to the Computer and Internet Applications in Education (CIAE) Special Interest Group at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (2010)

Link

Aligning science assessment standards: New Mexico and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) (with S Schneider, C Lee, and E Rolfhus) (2007)

This policy research document is intend¬ed for New Mexico policymakers to use when examining possible...

The NAEP 2009 Framework: A review of science content and innovative assessment ideas (with S Schneider and A Fu), Presentation at the CAESL2006, the annual conference of the Center for Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning (2006)

Evaluation

Using the Web for evaluation, Presentation at the California Cooperative Education Association Annual Conference (1998)

Research centers of the school of education, University of California, Berkeley: First year evaluation (with M Gearhart, A Rose, S Manyika, and A Barter) (1998)

SelectedWorks of Michael J Timms

Michael J Timms

ACER

Student and Teacher Assessment

The Career Preparation Assessment (Tailored Versions): Results and Analyses from the 1998-1999 Cohort (with D McLaughlin, C Smorodin, and T Smorodin) (2010)

A Framework for Analyzing Scientific Reasoning in Assessments (with Nathaniel J S Brown, Sam O. Nagashima, Alice Fu, and Mark Wilson), Educational Assessment (2010)

The Evidence-Based Reasoning Framework: Assessing Scientific Reasoning (with Nathaniel J S Brown, Erin M. Furtak, Sam O. Nagashima, and Mark Wilson), Educational Assessment (2010)

A Framework for The Using Evidence Framework: A Model of Scientific Reasoning (with N J S Brown, S O. Nagashima, and M Wilson), Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (2008)

The nature and impact of teachers’ formative assessment practices (with J L. Herman, E O. Osmundson, C Ayala, and S Schneider) (2006)

Assessment in eLearning

Science assessments for all : integrating science simulations into balanced state science assessment systems (with Edys S. Quellmalz, Matt D. Silberglitt, and Barbara C. Buckley), Journal of Research in Science Teaching (2012)

21st Century Dynamic Assessment (with E S. Quellmalz, B C. Buckley, J Davenport, M Loveland, and M D. Silberglitt), Technology-Based Assessments for 21st Century Skills:Theoretical and Practical Implications from Modern Research (2012)

Calipers II: Using Simulations to Assess Complex Science Learning, Presentation in a panel on Diagnostic Assessments at the Discovery Research in K-12 Education Principal Investigators’ Annual Conference (2010)

The promise of simulation-based science assessment: the Calipers project (with E S. Quellmalz and B C. Buckley), International Journal of Learning Technology (2010)

Student Learning in Science Simulations. What Makes a Difference? (with K Scalise, L Clark, and A Moorjani), Paper presented at the Session on “Conversation, Argumentation, and Engagement in Science Learning,” Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association (2009)

Assessment Standards

Aligning science assessment standards: New Mexico and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) (with S Schneider, C Lee, and E Rolfhus) (2007)

The NAEP 2009 Framework: A review of science content and innovative assessment ideas (with S Schneider and A Fu), Presentation at the CAESL2006, the annual conference of the Center for Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning (2006)

Evaluation

Using the Web for evaluation, Presentation at the California Cooperative Education Association Annual Conference (1998)

Research centers of the school of education, University of California, Berkeley: First year evaluation (with M Gearhart, A Rose, S Manyika, and A Barter) (1998)