Featured Speaker

Dr. Keith Wright

Dr. Wright is EMA's Senior Director of Testing & Psychometrics. Keith is a frequent presenter at conferences, including the annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association and the Psychometric Society. His research has been published in Educational and Psychological Measurement, International Journal of Testing and Journal of Educational Measurement, etc. In addition, he has presented at the Annual Innovations in Testing Conference, on the evolution of standardized testing. He holds a PhD in research, measurement, and statistics from Georgia State University. He also holds an MBA in finance/marketing from Loyola University of Chicago and a master’s degree in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology. His research interests are in fairness related to educational measurement and statistics, especially in the area of item response theory (IRT), differential item functioning (DIF), score equating, and non-cognitive measurements.

Symposium Agenda

Thursday, June 24, 2021
Opening Keynote 1:00 PM - 1:55 PM 

Featuring Dr. Keith Wright

Holistic Admission Panel2:00 PM - 2:55 PM 

Featured Panelists

  • Eric Barber, Director of Enrollment Management at Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences (CA)
  • Christian Donovan, Assistant Head of School & Director of Strategic Research, Director of Enrollment Management at Head-Royce School (CA)
  • Jenna King, Associate Head of School for Admissions and Enrollment at Riverdale Country School (NY)
  • Kristin Brown, Director of Admission and Financial Aid at Presbyterian School (TX)
Intro to The Character Skills Snapshot3:00 PM - 3:55 PMConcurrent Session

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This interactive session will teach symposium attendees about EMA's Character Skills Snapshot tool. Featured Speakers:

  • Heather Hyslop, EMA's Associate Director of Member Success
  • Melissa Providence, EMA's Associate Director of Member Success
A Case Study: One School's Approach to the Use the Character Skills Snapshot3:00 PM - 3:55 PMConcurrent Session

Join Riverdale Country School's Associate Head of School for Admissions and Enrollment as she takes you through her experience with using - first hand - the Character Skills Assessment in her admission process. Featured Speaker:

  • Jenna King, Associate Head of School for Admissions and Enrollment at Riverdale Country School (NY)
The Character Collaborative3:00 PM - 3:55 PMConcurrent Session

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The Character Collaborative joins educators with a common interest in elevating non-academic factors and character-related attributes in the admissions process. The goal of the Collaborative is to change admissions practice at the higher and secondary education levels to reflect the significance of character strengths in attaining success in school, college, and work.

Featured Speaker:

  • Tom Bear, Vice President of Enrollment Management, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (IN)
Breakout Group Work4:00 PM - 4:30 PM 

Discuss key takeaways, share out of ideas, gather input on a question, and ask about what you haven't heard today 

Moderated by Hans Mundahl, Director of Professional Development, EMA