Psychometric and Certification Consulting
312-375-7750 Chicago Area
psychometrician@sbcglobal.net or sandy@psychometrician.net
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Ph.D., Measurement, Evaluation and Statistical Analysis, March 1993.
Measurement, evaluation and general education courses, seminars and independent research. Concentration in psychometrics, Rasch item response theory (IRT) and survey research. Dissertation compared two administratively distinct versions of a computer adaptive certification exam in medical technology. Exams were compared in terms of efficiency, dimensionality and bias.
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
M.A., Research Methodology and Quantitative Psychology, August 1989.
Maintained a 3.6/4.0 GPA. Master's dissertation examined the relationships between juvenile delinquency, self-image and family relationships in a high school population. Courses in psychometrics, survey research, Rasch modeling, statistics and experimental design focusing in the areas of psychology and education. Recipient of the Century Scholarship and the NIH National Research Service Award.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
B.A., Major in Psychology, June 1984.
Maintained a 4.5/5.0 GPA and graduated with High Distinction. Recipient of Nancy Hirschberg Memorial Award for excellence in psychology. Courses in psychology totaling 56 quarter hours, including courses in interviewing, behavior modification, statistics and independent research projects. Member of Phi Kappa Phi and Golden Key National Honor Societies.
INDEPENDENT PSYCHOMETRIC CONSULTANT
February 1987 to present
Current focus is working with certifying organizations in a variety of fields such as medicine, finance, IT and food safety. Specialize using Rasch measurement techniques for tests and assessments. Assist organizations in the development and analysis of educational and psychological scales and tests. Offer comprehensive psychometric consultations in test development, IRT analysis, equating and cut score decisions. Services offered cover the full range of research skills including data organization, statistical manipulation, analysis (SPSS) and presentations using reports and graphics. Development of organizational surveys and questionnaires.
LINUX PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTE, TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
June 2002 to March 2006
Psychometrician (Staff/Consultant).Provided psychometric leadership and consultation for all exam programs. Planned, developed and prepared NOCA/NCCA application for accreditation, which was approved in 2004. Developed organizational policies for exam security, recertification, candidate grievances and appeals, nondiscrimination and record retention. Developed and applied multiple psychometric strategies for item rotation, equating, standard setting and scoring. Completed psychometric analyses using Rasch measurement techniques as well as classical techniques. Worked with cbt vendors (VUE and Prometric) to create and complete exam specification and test development language files and reviews for computer-based exam publication. Consulted to develop and publish a new distribution-specific exam for Ubuntu/Canonical.
AMERICAN OSTEOPATHIC ASSOCIATION, CHICAGO, IL
January 1994 to July 2004
Psychometrician.Developed the AOA Certification Exam Standards which specify psychometric standards for all osteopathic boards. Created and implemented a Division of Certification Plan that included conducting educational seminars and providing psychometric services for AOA boards. This plan also included creating and managing the evaluation/audit process of all 18 AOA certifying boards and their respective 118 examinations by the AOA Standards Review Committee. Served as secretary to the Standards Review Committee. Responsibilities also included the delivery of psychometric services to osteopathic physician specialty boards and consulting with the Department of Education on certification, college accreditation and hospital accreditation projects.
CHICAGO OSTEOPATHIC HEALTH SYSTEMS, CHICAGO, IL
September 1990 to January 1994.
Evaluator, Illinois AHEC. Responsibilities included the development and implementation of an evaluation system for AHEC activities and completing needs assessments and research on health issues. Collaborated with other organizations on health professions training programs, faculty development and placement of primary care physicians in community-based clinics.
Research Associate. Functions involved research on a variety of hospital administration topics including strategic planning, foundation funding and organizational structure. Research also included the defining of a faculty development agenda, defining the need for a pharmacy school, data analysis of hospital financial statements and the implementation of survey projects designed to address issues raised by the corporate board.
ISAAC RAY CENTER, RUSH PRESBYTERIAN-ST. LUKE'S MEDICAL CENTER, CHICAGO, IL. October 1986 to September 1990.
Research Consultant. Consulting and SPSS programming for a project concerned with the evaluation of police performance via psychological tests, supervisor ratings and demographics.
CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF ADOLESCENCE, MICHAEL
REESE HOSPITAL & MEDICAL CENTER, CHICAGO, IL
December 1984 to July 1990.
Research Associate. Provided statistical analysis, database organization, graphical displays, computer assistance and research consultation. Programming using SPSS, BASIC, and dBASEIII+. Also provided information and assistance to interested investigators and edited an annual newsletter.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT
CHICAGO, CHICAGO, IL
December 1983 to June 1984.
Research Assistant. One project involved interviewing, data collection, bibliographic research, data and statistical analysis using SAS and presentation of data relating to a program evaluation of a residential crisis-oriented home for adolescent girls. A second project's duties included literature review, design, implementation and statistical data analysis of an experiment to test the learned helplessness theory.
Ramirez, A., & Dolan, S. Certification of osteopathic physicians. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, November 2003(11), pp. 523-530.
Ramirez, A., & Dolan, S. Certification of osteopathic physicians. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, November 2002(11), pp. 590-596.
Ramirez, A., & Dolan, S. Certification of osteopathic physicians. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, November 2001, pp. 660-665.
Ramirez, A., & Dolan, S. Certification of osteopathic physicians. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, November 2000, pp. 691-695.
Glatz, L., & Dolan, S. Certification of osteopathic physicians. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, November 1998, pp. 609-613.
Glatz, L., & Dolan, S. Certification of osteopathic physicians. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, Vol. 97(11), November 1997, pp. 658-663.
Slick, G., Dolan, S. & Draba, R. Performance of osteopathic medical school graduates on the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine certifying examinations 1985 to 1994. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, Vol. 95(6), June 1995, pp. 370-374.
Dolan, S. & Slick, G. Performance changes on Osteopathic Certification Exams. Round table paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, April 1995.
Slick, G. & Dolan, S. Performances of candidates with osteopathic compared with allopathic training on the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine subspecialty certifying examinations 1984 to 1992. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, Vol. 94(12), December 1994, pp.1050-1053.
Draba, R. & Dolan, S. An agenda for faculty development in emergency medicine. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April 1994.
Dolan, S. A Comparison of Computer Adaptive Test Administration Methods. Doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago, 1993.
Dolan S. & Draba R. Resource Management through Measurement? Rasch Measurement Transactions, 1992, 6:1, 193.
Offer, D., Ostrov, E., Howard, K.I. & Dolan, S. Offer Self-Image Questionnaire, Revised. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services, 1992.
Swedo, S., Rettew, D., Kuppenheimer, M., Lum, D., Dolan, S. & Goldberger E. Can adolescent suicide attempters be distinguished from at-risk adolescents? Pediatrics, Vol. 88(3), September 1991, pp. 620-629.
Dolan, S. Test Item Writing. Half-day workshop presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neuroscience Nursing, New Orleans, April 1991.
Dolan, S. Delinquency, Self-Image and Family Relationships in a High School Population, Masters dissertation, University of Chicago, 1989.
Offer, D. Ostrov, E. Howard, K. & Dolan, S. The Offer Self-Image Questionnaire for Adolescents: A Manual. Chicago: Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, 1989.
Dolan, S. OSIQ N Dolan, S. OSIQ Newsletter (Ed.), Volumes 1-3. Chicago: Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, 1985-1989. ewsletter (Ed.), Volumes 1-3. Chicago: Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, 1985-1989.