Brian French, PhD

Brian French’s research focuses on educational and psychological measurement issues. The first area concerns the application of psychometric methods to gather score validity evidence for instruments. The second area, informed by the first, is the use of methodological studies to evaluate and improve methods in terms of efficiency and accuracy used to gather test score validity evidence. The goal of this research is to address fairness issues in decisions made about individuals. A sample of topics of interest include: Measurement Invariance, Structural Equation Modeling, Item Response Theory, Classical Test Theory, Factor Analysis, Multilevel Modeling, Monte Carlo studies. He works with various groups (e.g., education, psychology, agriculture, medicine) on these topics.

Teaching/professional interests

Dr. French teaches courses in measurement/psychometrics, statistics, research methods, and quantitative methods. He also is active in national service. He enjoys mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in research. He is the director of the Learning and Performance Research Center. He also spends much time with the UREKA program and the WARNS program. He is the editor of the Measurement, Statistics, and Research Design section of the Journal of Experimental Education. He is a board member of the Washinton State Academy of Sciences (WSAS), and Chair of the WSAS Education Committee. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Division 5 & 15, and of the American Educational Research Association. His recent work involves the use of AI in educational measurement funded by the Spencer Foundation and Microsoft’s AI for the Good Laboratory.

Sample Recent Publications

• Finch, W.H., Demir, C., French, B.F., & Vo, T.T. (in press). Accuracy in invariance detection with multilevel models with three estimators. Applied Psychological Measurement.
• French, B.F., Pires Gifford, L., Herr, R., Finney, S.J., & Galangue, D. (in press). Disengaged responses, distorted risks: Evaluating effort on student risk assessments. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/07342829261455562
• Thomas, A.B., et al. (in press). Psychometric properties of the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery composites in older adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias: a systematic review. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
• Suchy-Dicey, A., Vo, T., Oziel, K., Buchwald, D., Rhoads, K., French, B. F. (in press). Psychometric evaluation of California Verbal Learning Test Second Edition (CVLT-II) short form score validity in American Indian adults: the Strong Heart Study, Neuropsychology.
• Finch, W.H., French, B.F. & Immekus, J.C. (2026). Interrater reliability comparisons withgeneralizability theory and structural equation modeling. Psychological International, 8, 19, doi.org/10.3390/psycholint8010019
• Finch, W. H., French, B.F., Immekus, J. C., & Dai., S. (2026). Educational and  psychological measurement. 2ed Edition New York: Taylor & Francis.
• Finch, W. H., Hidalgo Montesinos, M. A., French, B. F., & Finch, M. H. (2025). Differential item functioning effect size use for validity information. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 85, 258-276.
• Marcus, D., Strand, P. & French, B.F. (2025). A taxometric analysis and external validation of the latent structure of student risks and needs. Assessment, 32, 1265-1273
• Suchy-Dicey, A., Vo, T., Oziel, K., Buchwald, D., Rhoads, K., French, B. F. (2025). Psychometric reliability, validity, and generalizability of MoCA in American Indian adults: the Strong Heart Study. Assessment, 32, 608-621.
• Castro, B., Manrique, R., Moratto, N., Segura, A., Gonzalez, D., & French, B. (2025). Spanish adaptation and validation of the of the Institutional Integration Scale. Interdisciplinaria, 42(1). 
• Bazzoli, A. & French, B. F. (2025). A multilevel argument-based approach to validation and interpretation of safety climate scores. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 98, e70008. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.70008
• Ellison, M. D., Burening, M., Rabbitt, M., Nguyen, C.J., & French, B.F.  (2024). Adapting the USDA Food Security Survey Module (FSSM) for use with college students: Can we improve model fit? Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 46,1301-1318.
• Vo, T.T., Dai, S., & French, B.F. (2024). Examining black girls mathematics and science dispositions using large-scale assessment and survey data: A quantcrit framework. Methods in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metip.2024.100158
• Albano, T., French, B.F., & Vo., T. (2024). Traditional vs intersectional DIF analysis: considerations and a comparison using state testing data. Applied Measurement in Education, 37, 57-70. https://doi.org/10.1080/08957347.2024.2311935
• Suchy-Dicey, A., Vo, T., Oziel, K., King, R., Barbosa-Leiker, C., Rhoads, K., Verney, S.,Buchwald, D., & French, B.F. (2024). Psychometric properties of COWA fas and associations with education and bilingualism in American Indian adults: The Strong Heart Study. Assessment, 31, 745-757. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191123118012
• Abdelhamid, G. S. M., Hidalgo Montesinos, M. D., Gomez-Benito, J., & French, B.F.  (2024). Partitioning dichotomous items using Mokken scale analysis and exploratory graph analysis: A Monte Carlo simulation, Methodology, 20, 187-217.
• Hildalgo Montesinos, M.D., French, B. F., Finch, W. H., & Immekus, J. C, (2022). Psicometría aplicada usando SPSS y AMOS. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing

Education

• Ph.D., Educational Psychology, Purdue University
• M.S., Educational Psychology,  Purdue University
• B.A., Psychology and Spanish, Seattle University