Dr. Wells received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2004 in Quantitative Methods in Educational Psychology. Professor Wells teaches courses in educational statistics and psychometric theory. His research interests include the applications of item response theory (IRT), specifically related to the assessment of model fit, detection of differential item functioning, and applications of nonparametric IRT. He also has a keen interest in the philosophy of science and its applications to epistemology. He has been an active member of NERA since 2004 where he has served and chaired committees, served on the Board of Directors, and was the 2012 Conference Program Co-chair.