
Dr. Ummugul Bezirhan
Assistant Research Director for Advanced Psychometrics and Machine Learning Applications
Dr. Ummugul Bezirhan serves as Assistant Research Director for Advanced Psychometrics and Machine Learning Applications. In this role, Dr. Bezirhan leads research and development initiatives at the intersection of psychometrics, artificial intelligence (AI), and large-scale assessment. Her work supports innovative applications across all stages of the assessment cycle including automated scoring, item generation, item classification, and test assembly.
Dr. Bezirhan plays a central role in modernizing psychometric practices by combining AI-driven approaches with traditional measurement models. She also contributes to international reporting, secondary data analysis, and capacity building around the ethical and effective use of AI in educational measurement. In addition to her research contributions, Dr. Bezirhan is responsible for operational psychometric scaling for TIMSS, PIRLS, and other special studies. She has played a key role in the Center’s transition efforts to streamline and modernize scaling workflows and development and implementation of updated psychometric scaling procedures.
Dr. Bezirhan holds a PhD in Measurement, Evaluation, and Applied Statistics from Columbia University. Her dissertation was recognized with the prestigious Dissertation Award from the Psychometric Society. Prior to joining the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, she held research and data science positions at the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), the American Institutes for Research (AIR), and NBCUniversal.