Scholarship
Education
I received my MS and PhD in Educational Psychology and Psychometric Methods from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I obtained my BA in Psychology, summa cum laude (for GPA) and with highest honors (for honors thesis), from Smith College.
Vita
My full vita, detailing my experience and full publication and presentation history, can be downloaded here.
Awards
2026 Annual Award for Exceptional Achievement in Educational Measurement from the National Council on Measurement in Education for co-editing the fifth edition of Educational Measurement with Linda Cook.
2007 ETS Presidential Award for leading winning NAEP proposal.
ETS Outstanding Volunteer Award for work as hospice volunteer.
Publications
Educational Measurement Reference Works
Cook. L. L., & Pitoniak, M. J. Eds. (2025). Educational measurement (5th edition). Oxford University Press. Read more >>
Cook. L. L., & Pitoniak, M. J. (2025). Factors influencing education and educational measurement. In L. L. Cook & M. J. Pitoniak, Eds., Educational measurement (5th edition, pp 3–32). Oxford University Press. Read more >>
Hambleton, R. K., & Pitoniak, M. J. (2006). Setting performance standards. In R. L. Brennan (Ed.), Educational measurement (4th ed., pp. 433–470). American Council on Education/Praeger. Read more >>
Standard Setting
McClarty, K. L., Loomis, S. C., & Pitoniak, M. J. (2017). Building external validity into the process: Evidence-based readiness standards. In K. L. McClarty, K. D. Mattern, and M. N. Gaertner (Eds.), Preparing students for college and careers: Theory, measurement, and educational practice (pp. 59–69). Routledge. Read more >>
Pitoniak, M. J., & Morgan, D. L. (2017). Setting and validating cut scores for tests. In C. Secolsky, & D. B. Denison, (Eds.), Handbook on measurement, assessment, and evaluation in higher education (2nd ed., 235–258). Routledge. Read more >>
Pitoniak, M. J., & Cizek, G. J. (2016). Standard setting. In C. Wells and M. Faulkner-Bond (Eds.), Educational measurement: From foundations to future (pp. 38–61). Guilford Press. Read more >>
Hambleton, R. K., Pitoniak, M. J., & Copella, J. (2012). Setting performance standards. In G. Cizek (Ed.), Setting performance standards: Theory and applications (2nd ed., pp. 47–76). Routledge. Read more >>
Pitoniak, M. J., & Yeld, N. (2012). Standard setting lessons learned in the South African context: Implications for international implementation. International Journal of Testing, 13, 19–31. Read more >>
Pitoniak, M. J., & Morgan, D. L. (2011). Setting and validating cut scores for tests. In C. Secolsky, & D. B. Denison, (Eds.), Handbook on measurement, assessment, and evaluation in higher education (pp. 343–381). Routledge.
Hambleton, R. K., & Pitoniak, M. J. (2006). Setting performance standards. In R. L. Brennan (Ed.), Educational measurement (4th ed., pp. 433–470). American Council on Education/Praeger. Read more >>
Sireci, S. G., Hambleton, R. K., & Pitoniak, M. J. (2004). Setting passing scores on licensure exams using direct consensus. CLEAR Exam Review, 15(1), 21–25.
Special Populations
Pitoniak, M. J., Young, J. W., Martiniello, M., King, T. C., Buteux, A., & Ginsburgh, M. (2009). Guidelines for the assessment of English language learners. ETS. Read more >>
Sireci, S. G., & Pitoniak, M. J. (2007). Assessment accommodations: What have we learned from research? In C. Cahalan Laitusis & L. Cook (Eds.), Large-scale assessment and accommodations: What works? (pp. 53–65). Council for Exceptional Children.
Pitoniak, M. J., & Royer, J. M. (2001). Testing accommodations for examinees with disabilities: A review of psychometric, legal, and social policy issues. Review of Educational Research, 71, 53–104.
Additional Topics
Davey, T., Pitoniak, M. J., & Slater, S. C. (2016). Designing computerized adaptive tests. In S. Lane, M. R. Raymond, & T. M. Haladyna (Eds.), Handbook of test development (2nd ed., pp. 467–484). Routledge. Read more >>
Zenisky, A. L., Mazzeo, J., & Pitoniak, M. J. (2016). Towards improving the reporting of test score results: Lessons learned from the evolution of reports from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. In C. Wells and M. Faulkner-Bond (Eds.), Educational measurement: From foundations to future (pp. 335–355). Guilford Press. Read more >>
Lucariello, J., Graham, S., Nastasi, B., Dwyer, C., Skiba, R., Plucker, J., Pitoniak, M., Brabeck, M., DeMarie, D., & Pritzker, S. (2015). Top twenty principles from psychology for preK-12 teaching and learning. American Psychological Association. Read more >>
Elliot, S., Ferrara, S., Millar, M., Pitoniak, M., Mikulas, C., Steedle, J. Taylor, K., & Trent, S. (2012). EdSteps: Creating a continuum of K–12 student writing using a paired comparison method. In T. Amiel & B. Wilson (Eds.), Proceedings of EdMedia 2012—World conference on educational media and technology (pp. 1937-1941). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Read more >>
Davey, T., & Pitoniak, M. J. (2006). Designing computerized adaptive tests. In S. M. Downing & T. M. Haladyna (Eds.), Handbook of test development (pp. 543–573). Lawrence Erlbaum.
Hambleton, R. K., & Pitoniak, M. J. (2002). Testing and measurement: Advances in item response theory and selected testing practices. In H. Pashler (Series Ed.) & J. Wixted (Vol. Ed.), Stevens’ handbook of experimental psychology: Vol. 4. Methodology in experimental psychology (3rd ed., pp. 517–561). Wiley. Read more >>
Pitoniak, M. J., Sireci, S. G., & Luecht, R. M. (2002). A multitrait-multimethod validity investigation of scores from a professional licensure examination. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 62, 498–516. Read more >>