Job Information
The College Board Senior Director, Assessment Manager, Life Sciences in Jackson, Mississippi
This Position is for a Senior Director, Assessment Manager, Life Sciences with a remote work location in Jackson, MS.
About the Opportunity
As the Senior Director, AP Life Sciences Assessment Manager, you will manage a small team of Assessment Leads in AP Life Sciences, including AP Biology and AP Environmental Science, guiding their assessment work and deliverables, as well as managing their training and development in assessment best practices. The Senior Director, AP Life Sciences Assessment Manager serves as the primary point of contact in AP for all assessment content for AP Life Sciences collaborating closely with the AP STEM Department Heads, Senior Director, AP Physical Sciences Assessment Manager, and Senior Director, AP STEM Assessment Manager. The Senior Director, AP Life Sciences Assessment Manager may provide assessment development support in other related subject areas. The Senior Director, AP Life Sciences Assessment Manager is responsible for all item development and management from authoring to administration; training and collaborating with subject-matter experts (SMEs), typically college professors and secondary school teachers. The Senior Director, AP Life Sciences Assessment Manager trains SMEs on assessment development protocols, translates between academics and technical experts (psychometricians), and collaborates to develop formative assessment materials and resources to support AP Life Sciences teachers worldwide.
In this role, you will:
Assessment Development and Scoring (34%)
Be responsible for overseeing the development and management of all assessment content through iterative review stages with multiple internal and external stakeholders, including the Assessment Leads and Course Leads of AP Life Sciences courses, Assessment Production team, Test Development Committees, and the Chief Readers
Be responsible for overseeing the authoring/revising of assessment content and training educator constituents to author assessment content, including selection of appropriate stimulus material, and applying best assessment practices for AP Life Sciences.
Be responsible for overseeing the development of all assessment forms for AP Life Sciences, ensuring the AP Exam development aligns with approved curricula and test specifications
Be responsible for overseeing multiple face-to-face meetings and virtual meetings (during work week, evenings, or weekends) annually with each of the committees within the Senior Director's stewardship as well as other committee meetings in the life science discipline, as needed
Be responsible for overseeing the successful scoring of student AP Exams at the annual scoring event in person and online---the AP Reading---and produce AP Reading publications materials for teacher and student use for AP Life Sciences
Assessment Quality and Process (33%)
Contribute to current research and best practices related to assessment; participate in regular discussions with other AP Curriculum & Assessment members on the current assessment standards and practices to build a set of common, shared beliefs about AP's assessment directions within the larger educational and assessment community
Contribute to processes for efficient, high-quality assessment development
Refine and improve question task models as well as exam design in collaboration with and aligned to other College Board initiatives
Monitor and improve exam validity, reliability, fairness, and quality, as well as reader reliability in accordance with established Program thresholds
Serve as a recognized and trusted resource within the community by collaboration with the AP Course Leads in engagement with the community to drive teacher satisfaction with the AP Life Sciences
Team Management and Deliverables (33%)
Manage and guide the work of AP Life Sciences Assessment Leads in the STEM department to develop high-quality assessments aligned to AP exam specifications
Train and support Ass ssment Leads in assessment development practices, including quality, validity, and fairness in AP assessment development and design, an understanding of the item and test development lifecycle, and proficiency with tools of assessment development, including the item authoring/item bank platform
Collaborate with Assessment Leads across the Curriculum and Assessment team to ensure the implementation of standardized assessment procedures
Collaborate with Assessment production project managers to establish schedules for test item and test form development, and to monitor assessment deliverables for your team
Mentor your team of Assessment Leads in best practices in collaborating with and facilitating the work of test development committees and other external stakeholders
Develop department processes, in partnership with the STEM Department Heads, to ensure integration of assessment development within the department
Collaborate with Assessment Leadership in Curriculum and Assessment to support the implementation and continuous improvement of assessment development practices, standardized processes, and standard operating procedures
About You
You have:
A master's degree in biology, environmental science, life science, or a directly related discipline and knowledge of current trends in the discipline (required), although a doctorate in the discipline is strongly preferred
Prior management experience, team lead experience, or project leadership (required)
At least 5 years in standardized assessment development (required)
Experience with digital assessment (preferred)
Teaching experience (preferred)
Superior oral and written communications skills and strong computer skills
Excellent organizational and planning skills, including the ability to effectively handle multiple tasks simultaneously
Meticulous attention to detail, including the ability to closely proofread
Excellent skills in process and procedure implementation, including adhering to project plans and schedules, and maintaining project management documentation for tracking
Technical acumen and aptitude; proficiency with Microsoft Office and use of browser-based applications and tools
Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills, including the ability to deal with staff at all levels
Willingness to give, accept, and address constructive feedback with positivity
Strong customer service orientation
Willingness to travel 6-8 times a year (domestic), with an additional 2 weeks in May/June for the Annual "AP Reading" activity
Eligible to work in the United States of America
EEOC statement
College Board is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We're committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status.