About MARCES
A center for the science and practice of educational measurement.
MARCES supports assessment work across Maryland, the region, and the nation through applied research, technical advice, and public scholarship.
Based at
University of Maryland College of EducationWho we are
The Maryland Assessment Research Center for Education Success is a research center at the University of Maryland. The center is known in this archive as MARCES and operates today as MARC within the Quantitative Methodology: Measurement and Statistics program.
Our home is the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology in the College of Education. That setting gives the work a strong foundation in measurement theory while keeping it close to the practical problems faced by schools, agencies, and research partners.
What the center does
MARCES studies the full life of an assessment: how a measure is designed, how it is delivered, how evidence is gathered, how results are analyzed, and how people interpret what those results mean.
- Applied research on assessment design, validity, comparability, growth, and reporting.
- Technical advice to state and local education agencies on assessment policy and practice.
- Evaluation studies that connect measurement evidence to public decisions.
- Conferences, publications, and an archive that make the work available to others.
How we work
We begin with the decision that the evidence is meant to support. That means asking who will use the result, what action depends on it, and what kinds of error or uncertainty would matter most.
From there, the work may involve item and test design, psychometric analysis, standard setting, comparative studies, or the review of an existing system. The method follows the question, not the other way around.
A living record
The site documents work from the early 2000s through the 2010s, including studies of MSPAP, the Maryland High School Assessments, growth models, alternate assessment, and the rise of computer based testing. Current work at the University of Maryland continues the center's interest in new assessment technologies and their responsible use.