About
At the LPRC, we are a collaborative community for interdisciplinary research and innovation in learning, performance, and assessment. Our center brings together faculty, students, and external partners to explore pressing educational and psychological questions through funded and unfunded projects that reflect our shared curiosity and commitment to impact.
We support:
- Inquiry and innovation, where various perspectives and methodological rigor drive our pursuit of fair education systems and meaningful learning experiences. We love methods and methodology!
- Interdisciplinary grant development across WSU colleges and with external collaborators, offering infrastructure and expertise in proposal preparation, psychometrics, and research design.
- Mentorship and capacity-building for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career faculty through hands-on research, writing support, and professional development.
- Community-engaged research that includes outreach to K–12 schools, educators, and students—from all communities—through workshops, co-design partnerships, and classroom-based studies.
Whether you’re seeking collaboration, consultation, or a place to grow your research ideas, LPRC is a space where systematic curiosity meets community.
Example productivity metrics since WSU approval of the LPRC:
Our expertise lies in three complementary areas of inquiry: evaluation, cognition, and measurement. This combination allows us to examine human performance through the development of assessments; expand understanding of human cognitive architecture and its implications for effective instruction; evaluate interventions in authentic contexts, and improve psychometric and research methodology. Our focal areas of research include the development of expertise in the sciences and engineering, large-scale assessment, educational and psychological measurement, and factors that impact students’ success in the educational pipeline.
Our graduate students are involved in research as soon as they join the LPRC. Students are typically engaged in externally funded research or evaluation projects. Students are exposed to a variety of projects, ranging from applied to methodological in nature. Our beginning students get hands-on experience with all aspects of our projects. Our seasoned students take on lead roles on projects, and mentor students raising behind them. Undergraduate students also are involved in our work, be it through the UREKA program, helping on a community engaged project, or volunteering to gain experience. We are committed to showing students why we are passionate about research! Please contact us if you are interested in engaging in research with us.
Our research has a history of continuous funding for more than 15 years. Projects are funded through entities such as private foundations, private donors, and IES, NSF, NIH, USDA, and so forth. We enjoy working on research and seeking funds to answer the research questions which are important to us and our colleagues. If you want to collaborate with us, please contact us.
People
The LPRC is comprised of Faculty, Graduate Students, Undergraduate Students, and Faculty Affiliates. These dedicated individuals pursue their research passion and curiosity to solve problems and answer interesting questions.