Washington State University Doctoral Student Earns Major Internship

Washington State University College of Education doctoral student Olasunkanmi (Ola) Kehinde has been awarded an internship with Educational Testing Services (ETS), one of the world’s largest educational testing and assessment organizations.

Kehinde said this opportunity is a perfect fit for his career endeavors and skillset, and he looks forward to the “unparalleled learning and professional development experiences,” especially with ETS’ National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

“My primary responsibilities with this internship will center around psychometrics and data analysis of the NAEP’s large-scale assessment data,” Kehinde said. “I will be involved in a simulation study aimed at evaluating the psychometric models that are of significant interest to the team.”

Kehinde believes he is well prepared for a variety of research projects within the NAEP program, such as psychometrics and data analysis, assessment design and development, and survey instrument design.

One of Kehinde’s advisors, Brian French, said Kehinde possesses an excellent combination of technical skills and problem-solving ability.

“This will allow him to make significant contributions to his internship project and the team he will work with over the summer,” he said.

Kehinde’s other advisor, Shenghai Dai, said Kehinde has received multiple summer internship offers this year and is pleased to see him be recognized by top institutions across his field.

“Ola has expertise in psychometrics and quantitative methods,” Dai said. “As a young professional in the field, he has a rigorous and productive research agenda and is committed to addressing issues in education.”

Kehinde said he appreciates the support he has received up until now and feels it has helped him secure the internship.

“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities to work with Dr. Dai and Dr. French on various research projects that allow me to gain research experiences and skills.”