Executive Director, Office of Language Assessment

Department
 

HUM Staff: CLC Chicago Language Center

About the Department
 

The Chicago Language Center (CLC) is a hub for professional development for language instructors across all departments and programs at the University. It currently leads two grants, Mellon Foundation Transforming Language Instruction, and the UChicago-funded Language Pedagogy Innovation Initiative. Professional staff in the CLC lead multiple workshops in language assessment and curriculum design for audiences of on-campus instructors and instructors from across the country. The Office of Language Assessment (OLA) is also housed in the CLC, and administers language testing for the entire University, including placement tests, English language tests for non-native speakers, and graduate reading exams, among others. The CLC’s work involves multiple funding agencies, revenue accounts, and discretionary accounts. In the recent past, the CLC has hosted international conferences around language testing and teaching. The work of the OLA leads the way for the assessment profession and expands and integrates the University’s own testing programs in language assessment, ensuring superior testing practices that transform language instruction and student learning across all divisions and units of the University.

Job Summary
 

Reporting to the Director of the University of Chicago Language Center (CLC), the Executive Director of the Office of Language Assessment (OLA) works to establish and maintain the OLA and the University as innovative leaders in language assessment, both in terms of the design and development of new test instruments and in the research that brings them to fruition and ensures their validity and reliability.

The Executive Director oversees a team of professionals responsible for post-secondary level academic, curricular, and language assessment programs and manages the implementation of new policies and procedures. Additionally, the Managing Director supports fundraising strategies, acts as an official OLA representative at events/conferences, and is actively engaged in scholarly research and dissemination, both on the University of Chicago campus and in the international field of language testing research and practice.

Responsibilities

• Produces and uses in-depth knowledge of current research to inform test design and development and to anticipate problems and their solutions. 
• Provides leadership within the OLA and across campus on all aspects of language assessment 
• Consults with departments, programs, divisions and other offices about language testing needs, implementation, as well as how testing and assessment help guide and focus instruction and academic programming. 
• Oversees the development and updating of foreign language and ESL tests in consultation with the programs, units and instructors using them. Exams may include placement exams, proficiency exams, graduate reading exams, and English as a second language (ESL) exams in multiple skill areas. 
• Facilitates ESL testing across all divisions and units of the University, including the development of specialized assessments for specific programs. 
• Ensures and maintains the validity and reliability of tests administered in the OLA. This includes the analysis of test data, including scores and ratings earned by individuals and groups, and scoring and rating by individual graders and across tests and their different versions. 
• Designs and implements evaluative instruments, such as learner and instructor evaluations, to determine the validity of different tests. Leads discussion groups and workshops in support of ongoing evaluation of student's academic abilities and/or teacher-designed assessments. Monitors and documents progress and participation. 
• Investigates, selects and implements multiple platforms, applications and formats in order to offer tests online, while preserving their integrity and making them accessible to all test users regardless of issues related to geographical location, accommodation of any learning issues or disabilities, and accessibility of WIFI or other necessary technical support. 
• Serves as consultant to University offices to inform policy decisions, including Provost’s office, UChicagoGRAD, Admissions, OIA, and others as needed, providing expertise, referenced materials, white papers, and other resources.