She received her Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut in Educational Psychology in Measurement, Evaluation, and Assessment. In her research, she is interested in using assessments to inform decisions so that all students- gifted students in particular- are provided ample opportunities to grow academically. In practice, this line of research is both quantitative and applied: the assessment of student growth, multilevel modeling of student data, growth mixture modeling of student growth, alternative methods for measuring school effectiveness, and the use of educational instruments to assess student understanding or teacher perceptions. Specifically, her substantive research interests include academic acceleration, mathematics/STEM education- particularly in middle school, gifted education, and assessment.