CV

Education

Ph.D in Educational Measurement and Statistics, The University of Iowa
- Minor: Mathematical Statistics
M.S in Biostatistics, The University of Iowa
B.A & M.A in Classical Chinese Literature, Nanjing University

Work & Research Experience

2021 - present : Associate Research Scientist
- Pearson
2021 - 2021 : Data Science Intern
- Corgee
  - Conducted data queries and data cleaning.
  - Compute important indices/statistics for visualization.
  - Investigated sandbox opportuities and regulations to support company growth.
2018 - 2021 : Research Assistant
- The University of Iowa
  - Collected, cleaned, and analyzed various types of datasets.
  - Conducted psychometric research using R, SAS, SPSS, Mplus, FlexMIRT, and GENOVA.
2019 - 2020 : Preceptorship
- ACTNext
  - Developed an innovative item response model through extensive derivations and implemented it in R via optimization algorithms.
  - Evaluated model performance on both simulated and large-scale operational data.
June 2020 - July 2020 : Psychometric Intern
- Alpine Testing Solutions
  - Validated a newly developed statistical software.
  - Investigated literatures on cheating detection.
  - Presented findings and recommendations to the psychometric team.
2017 - 2018: Statistics Tutor
- The University of Iowa
  - Articulated statistical concepts and cleared confusions and misunderstandings for 10+ clients
  - Reviewed and revised SAS/R codes to improve computing accuracy and efficiency
2015 - 2016: Lecturer
- University of Pittsburgh
  - Developed course syllabus, guides, materials.
  - Delivered daily lectures. Interacted with students both in and after classes.
  - Wrote and assembled quizzes/assignments/exams and designed analytic grading rubrics to diagnose students’ performance. Gave constructive feedback.
2013 - 2015 : Teaching Assistant
- The University of Iowa
  - Led a task-based classroom.
  - Supported students’ learning via after-calss trainings.
  - Assisted course supervisor and collaborated with team teachers through regular meetings.
2011 - 2012 : Counselor
- Nanjing Medical University
  - Communicated regularly with students and parents. Supported undergraduate students make smooth transitions to university.
  - Gave weekly talks to 300+ students to enhance classroom cohesion. Kept a weekly journal on school’s official website to record students’ growth
  - Award: Third place in Professional Skills Competition at Nanjing Medical University

Skills

Computing: R/SAS/SPSS/Python, Winsteps/FlexMIRT, SQL, Mplus, Qualtrics, Windows, Unix
Statistics: regression, generalized linear models, categorial/longitudinal models, experimental design, Bayesian modeling, predictive models, clustering
Psychometrics: item response theory, classical test theory, factor analysis, structural equation modeling, generalizability theory, equating, diagnostic models

Training & Certificates

Demystify Amazon Web Services (AWS): Cloud Computing, and Psychometric Applications, Annual Meeting of National Council on Measurement in Education (2023), Chicago, IL
Addressing the Data Challenges of Next-generation Assessments: Data Science Upskilling for Psychometricians, Annual Meeting of National Council on Measurement in Education (2022), virtual
Using Stan for Bayesian Psychometric Modeling, Annual Meeting of National Council on Measurement in Education (2021), virtual
NAEP Data Training Workshop (2020), Arlington, VA
SAS Certified Base Programmers for SAS 9, Nov. 2016
SAS Certified Advanced Programmers for SAS9, Nov. 2016

Services

Session Chair & paper reviewer:
- Annual Meeting of National Council on Measurement in Education (2023), Chicago, IL

Awards

Mar. 2021: Melvin R. Novick Award
- College of Education, The University of Iowa
  - This award was established as a memorial for Professor Melvin R. Novick by the College of Education and Dr. Novick’s wife, Naomi. It is presented annually to a doctoral student who has shown outstanding academic performance and promise of the highest level of achievement inresearch in the field of educational measurement and research.
Mar. 2020 & Mar. 2021: Research Award
- College of Education, The University of Iowa
  - This award is in recognition of an outstanding graduate student who has demonstrated outstanding research achievement through the academic year in educational measurement and statistics program at the University of Iowa.
Feb. 2020: Blommers/Hieronymus/Feldt Fellowship
- College of Education, The University of Iowa
  - This award is in recognition of an outstanding doctoral student who has demonstrated academic achievement, professional promise, and have completed one full year in educational measurement and statistics program at the University of Iowa. This award is made possible by gifts to the University of Iowa Foundation from friends and colleagues of Professors Blommers, Hieronymus, and Feldt.
Oct. 2018: Third Place in 2018 Midwest Big Data Hackathon
- The University of Iowa
  - This award is in recognition of the third-place excellent team project out of 40 competitive team projects in the 2018 Midwest Hackathon competition at the University of Iowa.
Mar. 2004: Excellent Student of Wuxi City
- Wuxi City Department of Education
  - This award is in recognition of an outstanding student who is all-round developed in moral, intellectual, physical, and aesthetics among 30,000+ competitors in Wuxi City.

Publications

The Movement and Stillness, Reasonable Interest, and Entirely Free Feelings of Landscape Poetry of Su Shi

Xu, Guanlan. (2009). "The Movement and Stillness, Reasonable Interest, and Entirely Free Feelings of Landscape Poetry of Su Shi. " Modern Chinese. 1(1).

A Study on “Zi X” Typed Styles in Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties

Xu, Guanlan. (2010). "A Study on “Zi X” Typed Styles in Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties." Journal of An-Qing Normal College. 1(1).

Expanding G-Theory Models to Incorporate Congeneric Relationships: Illustrations Using the Big Five Inventory

Walter P. Vispoel, Guanlan Xu & Murat Kilinc (2020) Expanding G-Theory Models to Incorporate Congeneric Relationships: Illustrations Using the Big Five Inventory, Journal of Personality Assessment, DOI: 10.1080/00223891.2020.1808474

Using Parallel Splits with Self-Report and Other Measures to Enhance Precision in Generalizability Theory Analyses

Walter P. Vispoel, Guanlan Xu & Wei S. Schneider (2021): Using Parallel Splits with Self-Report and Other Measures to Enhance Precision in Generalizability Theory Analyses, Journal of Personality Assessment, DOI: 10.1080/00223891.2021.1938589

Interrelationships between latent state-trait theory and generalizability theory within a structural equation modeling framework

Vispoel, W. P., Xu, G., & Schneider, W. S. (2021). Interrelationships between latent state-trait theory and generalizability theory within a structural equation modeling framework. Psychological Methods. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000290

Integrating Bifactor Models into a Generalizability Theory Based Structural Equation Modeling Framework

Walter P. Vispoel, Hyeryung Lee, Guanlan Xu & Hyeri Hong (2022) Integrating Bifactor Models into a Generalizability Theory Based Structural Equation Modeling Framework, The Journal of Experimental Education, DOI: 10.1080/00220973.2022.2092833

Expanding Bifactor Models of Psychological Traits to Account for Multiple Sources of Measurement Error

Vispoel, W. P., Lee, H., Xu, G., & Hong, H. (2022). Expanding bifactor models of psychological traits to account for multiple sources of measurement error. Psychological Assessment.

Book Chapter: Item Response Theory

Chapter Ackerman, A., Ma, Y., Ma, M., Pacico, J. C., Wang, Y., Xu, G., Ye, T.,Zhang, J., Zheng, M. (2022). Item Response Theory. In Editor R. J. Tierney, F. Rizvi, K. Ercikan. (Ed.) International Encyclopedia of Education (Fourth Edition, 72-85). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818630-5.10010-7

Talks

An Investigation of Chinese Listening Strategies Used by English-Speaking CFL (Chinese as Foreign Language) Learners across Different Proficiency Levels

April 01, 2016

Paper Presentation at Chinese Language Teachers Association International Symposium 2016, College Park, Maryland

Using Data Augmentation to Improve IRT-3PL Calibrations with Small Samples

August 08, 2019

Poster at American Psychological Association 2019, Chicago

Single-Occasion and Longitudinal CFA Analysis of Responses to the Mini-IPIP-BFM

August 10, 2019

Poster at American Psychological Association 2019, Chicago

Using the Bifactor Model to Quantify Effects of Response Styles

August 10, 2019

Paper at American Psychological Association 2019, Chicago

Matching G-Theory Analyses to the Numbers of Response Options Available

August 10, 2019

Presentation at American Psychological Association 2019, Chicago

Using Data Augmentation to Improve IRT-3PL Calibrations with Small Samples

October 16, 2019

Poster at Education Technology and Computational Psychometrics Symposium 2019, Iowa City, IA

Using LASSO to Identify PISA 2015 Student and Teacher Predictors for Science Achievement

November 20, 2019

Poster at Iowa Educational Research and Evaluation Association 2019, Ankeny, IA

Evaluating Effects of Positively and Negatively Worded Questionnaire Items using the Bifactor Model

April 16, 2020

Poster at National Council on Measurement in Education 2020, Virtual

Effectiveness of DupER Augmentation in Improving IRT-3PL Calibrations with Small Samples

April 16, 2020

Poster at National Council on Measurement in Education 2020, Virtual

Fine Tuning Factor Analyses to Improve Model Fit at the Item Level

April 16, 2020

Poster at National Council on Measurement in Education 2020, Virtual

Extending G-theory Models to Account for Scale Coarseness and Congeneric Relationships

April 16, 2020

Paper at National Council on Measurement in Education 2020, Virtual

Extending the Bifactor Model to Account for Multiple Sources of Measurement Error

April 17, 2020

Paper at American Educational Research Association 2020, San Francisco, CA

Advantages of Using Split-Half Measures in Generalizability Theory Analyses

April 17, 2020

Poster at American Educational Research Association 2020, San Francisco, CA

Integrating Latent-State-Trait and Generalizability Theories into a Common Conceptual Framework

August 09, 2020

Poster at American Psychological Association 2020, Virtual

Accuracy of Item Response Calibrations using the SMOTE Procedure

August 09, 2020

Poster at American Psychological Association 2020, Virtual

Linkages Between Latent State-Trait and Generalizability Theories

April 06, 2021

Poster at National Council on Measurement in Education 2021, Virtual

Integrating Parallel Splits into Generalizability Theory Analyses

April 06, 2021

Poster at National Council on Measurement in Education 2021, Virtual

A Multi-Occasion Bifactor Model Analyses of Responses to the BFI-2

August 06, 2021

Poster at American Psychological Association 2021, Virtual

Integrating the Generalized Graded Unfolding Model into Latent State-Trait Theory Frameworks

August 06, 2021

Poster at American Psychological Association 2021, Virtual

A Latent State-Trait Analysis of Responses to Multidimensional Self-Concept Inventories

August 06, 2021

Poster at American Psychological Association 2021, Virtual

Accuracy of Absolute Error Estimates within a G-theory SEM Framework

April 09, 2022

Paper at National Council on Measurement in Education 2022, SAN DIEGO, CA

Integrating Bifactor Models into G-Theory Frameworks

April 23, 2022

Paper at National Council on Measurement in Education 2022, SAN DIEGO, CA

Volunteer Experience

Aug. 12, 2018 : Van Cleaning
- Table to Table, Iowa City, IA
  - Cleaned 3 vans for food delivery
Oct. 1, 2014 : Speaker
- John F. Kennedy High School, Cedar Rapids, IA
  - Delivered a 30-minute talk on Chinese culture to 20+ audiences
Sep. 2013 - Dec. 2013 : Social Worker
- Pathways Adult Day Health Ctr, Iowa City, IA
  - Shared my time, talents, interests and hobbies.