49th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OVERVIEW AND WELCOME
October 17-19, 2018
Trumbull Marriott Merritt Parkway, Trumbull, Connecticut
Let’s Get Ready to TRUMBUUUUUUULL!
To you, our members, it may feel like just yesterday that President Javarro Russell was announcing conference co-chairs Jade Caines Lee and Tabitha McKinley as the planners for the 2018 annual gathering, but the day is upon us!
Since last October, we have been planning diligently to ensure that we incorporated the feedback from the 2017 conference evaluations, individual emails or suggestions from members, President Russell’s vision and our own ingenuity to make the 2018 one to remember.
We are excited to announce the new membership-driven conference workshops. Those sessions that will be presented during the NERA conference were selected due to you, our NERA members. Many thanks to those who chose to participate in that process. We are grateful to you for your partnership with us in this new format for engaging in our conference.
As you make plans to attend the NERA 2018 conference to attend the paper and poster sessions featuring the incredible work of our members, we would like to provide you with some exciting highlights:
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Pre-Conference Workshops:
- “I Presented at NERA. Now What Do I Do With This Paper?” (Presenters: Drs. Sarah Ferguson and Brent Elder of Rowan University)
- “A SASsy Approach to Best Practices in Data Visualization” (Presenters: Nikole Gregg and Dr. Brian Leventhal of James Madison University)
- “Mini Hackathon: Assessing Outside the Box” (Presenters: Drs. Ellen Forte, Elizabeth Summers, and Lauren Deters of edCount)
- “SHOW ME THE MONEY!: Take Your Educational Research to the Corporate World for Funding Opportunities” (Presenter: Rod Lasster of APEX 4.0 Solutions, Inc.)
- “Automated Test Assembly and More Fun with Optimization Algorithms in R” (Presenter: Dr. Jason Kopp of American Board of Surgery)
New NERA Member Meet and Greet sponsored by the American Board of Surgery
GSIC Reception sponsored by Curriculum Associates
Opening Dinner sponsored by Pearson: Keynote Speaker, Dr. Terry Mazany, National Assessment Governing Board
Opening Reception sponsored by Praxis: Game Night, Karaoke, and Snacks
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Opening Luncheon (sponsor TBA): Keynote Speaker, Dr. Peggy Carr, Acting Commissioner National Center of Education Statistics
Mentorship Reception sponsored by the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment
NERA Authors’ Book Fair: Come and meet NERA members who are published authors. Support them by purchasing signed copies of their books.
President’s Reception sponsored by James Madison University: Bring your pearls, suspenders, and great memory for the password to this 20’s style “Speakeasy” complete with a live jazz entertainer.
Friday, October 19, 2018
Mentoring Memories Luncheon sponsored by edCount: Hear from successful mentors and mentees paired through NERA throughout the years and how their relationships have grown and evolved over the years.
We look forward to seeing you in October as we celebrate this year’s theme:
Honoring the Past in Educational Research, While Looking Ahead: What Does the Future Hold?
If you would like to participate in the NERA book fair, please contact Tabitha McKinley at
tabitha.mckinley@doe.nj.gov for information.
There are still sponsorship opportunities available. To obtain a sponsor prospectus, please contact NERA co-chair Tabitha McKinley at
tabitha.mckinley@doe.nj.gov.
Dr. Tabitha McKinley Dr. Jade Caines Lee
New Jersey Department of Education University of New Hampshire
