ELPA21 Implementation Project Manager

Implementation Project Manager For English Language Proficiency Assessment For The 21st Century

The Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a pioneering research institution founded in 1986. Dedicated to advancing educational assessment and evaluation, CRESST leads in innovative strategies to enhance teaching and learning outcomes. Our expertise spans assessment design, scoring, and application across diverse educational settings. We specialize in developing technological architectures for learning and drive advancements in performance assessment at scale, alongside the development of psychometric and statistical models for evidence-based inferences.

The position involves serving as an Implementation Project Manager for English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21), a large, complex national educational testing and research program housed in the School of Education and Information Studies' Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST). Primary duties include, but are not limited to, planning, managing, collecting, analyzing, and creating documentation to align with the Assessment Design Manager's vision. The team member will collect and assemble program and client information to develop project documents, statements of work, and requirements in support of item design, development and maintenance of assessments, and assessment delivery.

The team member will be responsible for project management for multiple projects, including both routine annual assessment implementation tasks, improvements to existing assessments, and creation of new test items. The team member will make preliminary analyses of clients' needs to lay the groundwork for new projects and change orders, and will create and maintain descriptive project reports expanding upon Assessment Design and Research priorities including test delivery volume, issues related to assessment design, milestone and KPI reporting. The team member will manage Assessment Design Advisory Committee meeting planning, coordination of state advisory committee members' attendance as well as oversee communication materials for state clients. They will serve as liaison between state clients, vendors, and CRESST Business Office to facilitate recruitment of educators for feedback panels, manage payment and reimbursements, plan and schedule panel events, and management of the panel events. The team member will also lead the work to create new ELPA21 test items in the assessment vendor's testing platform, including creation and maintenance of related data and item specifications.

Salary & Compensation : UCLA provides a full pay range. Actual salary offers consider factors, including budget, prior experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, and other business considerations. Salary offers at the top of the range are not common. Visit UC Benefit package to discover benefits that start on day one, and UC Total Compensation Estimator to calculate the total compensation value with benefits.

Qualifications :

• Demonstrated experience in project coordination and familiarity with standard project management practices.
• Demonstrated experience with assessment delivery and client management.
• Demonstrated experience with aspects of large-scale secure test item writing for grades K-12, based on English language proficiency standards and item specification documentation.
• Demonstrated background and education in the foundations of language acquisition, biliteracy, and linguistics.
• Demonstrated familiarity with instructional practices in kindergarten through 12th grade public education, particularly around special education services and English learner services.
• Demonstrated general familiarity with federal and state education policy, testing requirements, and assessment practices, especially ESSA, ESEA, Title programs, and English learner policies.
• Ability to create complex documentation and project support materials with standard office applications, such as Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint, and other supporting programs (e.g., Wrike, Airtable).
• Ability to work responsibly and accurately with detailed information including : contract requirements, checklists, timelines, item specifications, and metadata.
• Demonstrated ability to learn and use proprietary databases or systems, such as scoring systems or item banking systems in order to create summary reports, new test items, and to complete reviews.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate and prioritize multiple projects with accuracy and attention to detail.
• Familiarity with cloud-based storage and collaborative online workspaces, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Box, Basecamp, and Sharefile.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, communication skills, and usage of language to clearly convey information verbally and in writing.
• Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team. Ability to train and supervise student workers in basic assessment-related tasks, including the review of work for quality and completeness.
• Ability to accept delegated work, validate expectations, problem-solve obstacles, and follow-up to completion and / or report status of delegated tasks.
• Ability to work independently, meet fixed deadlines, set priorities, and follow through tasks to completion. Ability to independently compose, edit, and / or copyedit materials prepared using proper grammar, syntax, spelling, and punctuation. Ability to create, read, and manipulate files in the Microsoft Office Suite.
• Ability to work in a collaborative and dynamic environment with frequently competing priorities, by identifying risk points, conceptualize solutions, and prioritize tasks to meet deadlines.
• Ability to maintain confidential and sensitive information with discretion and to maintain professional working relationships with state, district and local education agencies, vendors, and partners.

Special Conditions for Employment : Background Check : Continued employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background investigation. Live Scan Background Check : A Live Scan background check must be completed prior to the start of employment. Mid to high proficiency in a language other than English (e.g., Spanish).