I'm applying for a position at Data Recognition Corp and part of the process involves demonstrating familiarity with large-scale assessment development. My background is in K-12 curriculum, not psychometrics, and I'm trying to fill the gaps quickly.
The work seems to revolve around item development, test form construction, scoring operations, and reporting. The psychometric side — IRT, equating, scaling — is where I'm least prepared. I understand conceptually what item response theory does, but I'd struggle to explain a three-parameter logistic model in an interview.
I've been working through Hambleton and Swaminathan as a primer and it's helping, but the notation is dense. Has anyone prepared for a DRC role from a curriculum background? What's the actual depth of psychometric knowledge expected at the item developer level versus the senior psychometrician level?
Also curious whether DRC tends to train on their internal systems or expects candidates to come in with platform experience already.
The K-12 curriculum background is actually an asset for item writing. Content knowledge and grade-level appropriate language matter enormously. Lead with that strength in the interview and show you can learn the psychometric vocabulary on the job.
DRC trains on internal systems. What they want is assessment literacy — can you write to a spec, do you understand how items get flagged in bias review, can you work within a development workflow. Platform specifics are learnable.
Item developer level doesn't require deep IRT knowledge — you need to understand item difficulty and discrimination conceptually, know good item writing practices, and be familiar with test blueprints. The heavy psychometrics lives with the research staff.
Hambleton is thorough but maybe more than you need for an item developer role. The Educational Measurement book edited by Brennan is a broader overview that covers the full assessment development cycle — might be more relevant to your target position.