Senior Psychometrician

Job Responsibility:

Ministry of Education

Through safe and caring schools for all students, Alberta's government is making life better by investing in education - one of the most important investments we can make in our future. The Ministry is responsible for: developing and evaluating curriculum; teacher development and certification; supporting students with diverse learning needs; funding and supporting school boards; First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, and Francophone education; and overseeing basic education policy and regulations.

Job Information

Job Requisition ID: 50916 Ministry: Education Location: Edmonton Full or Part-Time: Full Time Hours of Work: 36.25 hours per week Regular/Temporary: Regular Scope: Open Competition Closing Date: December 20, 2023 Classification: Education 1-Psychometrician (021EQA) Salary: $3,593.57 to $4,851.56 bi-weekly ($93,792 - $126,625/year)

Role Responsibilities

The Ministry of Education has an exciting opportunity and is looking for a Senior Psychometrician to join our team! The senior psychometrician is responsible for providing psychometric advice regarding the design, development, and enhancement of testing, marking, scoring, and results reporting for all of these provincial assessments multiple times a school year. The senior psychometrician is one of several positions charged with designing, developing, managing, and monitoring psychometric and statistical procedures for all Alberta provincial assessments as well as the new Canadian assessments. You will provide oversight for current provincial assessments; the senior psychometricians' advice is also required for the new digital online assessment solution. In your role as a Senior Psychometrician, you will:

• Participate in the scoring and reporting for early years screening tools, SLAs, PATs, Diploma Examinations (DIP) and future new Canadian assessments.
• Follow the sector's established business rules and procedures and ensures results and reports are completed on time without any error.
• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of the sector's data held in Ministry files to effectively deal with stakeholder information requirements and requests.
• Conceive, design, and produce secondary analysis reports and/or cutting-edge graphs at various levels using PAT and DIP assessment data.
• Initiate and provide ad hoc reporting services as well as information/data requests from the sector, the ADM and department, and from stakeholders, school authorities, schools, parents, students, and members of the public.
• Compile, review, summarize, and interpret relevant psychometric and educational assessment reports and literature to identify emerging issues of relevance to Alberta.
• Collaborate with the leadership team of the sector and Policy and Planning and Legislative Services to ensure that assessment related legislation, regulations, policies and practices are developed with full consideration of current and emerging psychometric and educational assessment trends and technologies.
• Prepare briefing notes and recommendations in relation to identified issues and trends.
• Identify through research and development activity findings assessment and information technology related issues and trends that have strategic, operational, and budget implications for the Sector and Branches.
• Design, develop, implement, and lead operations-based psychometric research and keeps abreast of assessment related issues and trends in support of Alberta assessment programs as well as the new Canadian assessment program.
• Initiate and develop , as requested by the DM and/or ADM, original and policy-based research and data analyses using the data , technologies or models obtained from provincial, national, and/or international assessments and surveys to inform Sector, Division and Departmental decision-making.
• Contribute to the psychometric and educational assessment literature by publishing (in peer-reviewed journals) manuscripts that present the results of research projects.

Qualifications

Master's Degree in a related field plus five years related experience or equivalent as described below.

Equivalency: Bachelor's Degree in a related field plus seven years of related experience. Knowledge or experiences considered as assets include:

• PHD or equivalent in educational measurement or a related field, and experience in statistics with proven ability to solve psychometric and statistical problems in a largescale assessment context.
• Knowledge of databases for the psychometric aspects of Sector systems and functions using software applications such as SPSS, EQS, SIBTEST, Bilog, CIPE, Parscale, TESTGRAF, Visual Basic, R Package, Python, etc.
• Understanding of Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) and the ability to use that information to design scoring and reporting systems and to provide expert advice and support members of the sector.
• Experience in the use of MS Office including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook.
• Knowledge of the mathematics behind psychometric statistics used to build and test custom scoring and reporting systems.
• Knowledge of national and international assessment issues and trends and the ability to use that information to help shape Division and Branch policy and practice.
• Relationship management skills to develop and maintain collaborative working relationships and ensure service excellence within the branch and Ministry, across government, and with stakeholders and partners.
• Professional judgment and decision-making skills along with conceptual and critical thinking skills to monitor and evaluate systems and processes and work toward continuous improvement.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written) to effectively build relationships, consult and work with program areas on a variety of projects, and write briefing notes and other information and decision-making documents.
Leadership and personal management skills required to train and manage contract data analysis staff and unit support staff.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification. Refer to

Notes

This is a full-time permanent position working 36.25 hours per week, Monday to Friday from 8:15 am - 4:30 pm. This position is based in Edmonton. Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in. Applicants are advised to provide a cover letter summarizing information that clearly and concisely demonstrates how their qualifications meet the advertised requirements, including education, experience and relevant examples of required competencies. In your resume, please include dates (including months and years) associated with all education and work experience. Also, please indicate whether your work experience is casual, part-time or full-time. For example: January 15, 2006 - June 25, 2009: Assistant (PT three 8 hrs shifts/week). The final candidate may be required to undergo a security screening. This competition may be used to fill future vacancies across the Government of Alberta, at equal or lower classification and salary.

Links and information on what the Government of Alberta has to offer to prospective employees.

• Working for the Alberta Public Service -
• Pension plans:
• Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) -
• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information -
• Leadership and mentorship programs
• Professional learning and development -
• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance
• Opportunity to participate in flexible work arrangements such as working from home up to two days per week and modified work schedule agreement.

Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool -

APS Competencies Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies:

Critical Competencies:

• Systems Thinking - You consider the impact of strategies and changes on the work of clients, stakeholders, and team members and support organization vision and goals through strategic planning of tasks and considering relationships between different work approaches and their impact on different programs, divisions and ministries.
• Creative Problem Solving - You will facilitate the creation of a work environment for generating and finding newer ideas to solve existing and potential problems.
• Agility - You will possess an ability to create an adaptable environment and overcome barriers through proactive and flexible approach to work.
• Develop Networks - You develop and sustain a network of relationships across the department and with other GOA ministries on issues and work with other branches to develop effective communication channels to enhance and maximize the effectiveness of interactions.
• Build Collaborative Environment - Leads and contributes to the conditions and environments that allow people to work collaboratively and productively to achieve outcomes.
• Drive for Results - Design and manage projects to achieve intended outcomes and deliverables within allotted timeframes and budget.

How To Apply

Applicants are advised to provide information that clearly and concisely demonstrates how their qualifications meet the advertised requirements, including education, experience, and relevant examples of required competencies.

It is recommended that applicants include the assessment certificate from IQAS or any other educational assessment service as part of their application. Closing Statement This competition may be used to fill future vacancies, across the Government of Alberta, at the same or lower classification level. We thank all applicants for their interest. All applications will be reviewed to determine which candidates' qualifications most closely match the advertised requirements. Only individuals selected for interviews will be contacted. If you require any further information on this job posting or a copy of the role profile, and/or require a disability related accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact Zooha Baig at View email address on ca.edajobs.com.