Boston College IntroductionFounded in 1863, Boston College is a Jesuit, Catholic university located six miles from downtown Boston with an enrollment of 9,484 full-time undergraduates and 5,250 graduate and professional students. Ranked 35 among national universities, Boston College has 888 full-time and 1,281 FTE faculty, 2,711 non-faculty employees, an operating budget of $1.4 billion, and an endowment in excess of $3.5 billion.
Job DescriptionResearch Assistant, TIMSS and PIRLS
Reporting to the Senior Research Director, Digital Systems, Operations and Quality Verification, the Research Assistant, TIMSS and PIRLS, assists with ensuring the highest standards of operations and quality control in TIMSS and PIRLS.
The TIMSS
& PIRLS International Study Center is home to two major international
research programs that monitor student achievement in mathematics, science, and
reading. TIMSS (the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is
conducted on a four-year cycle and measures mathematics and science achievement
at fourth and eighth grades. Currently involving more than 70 countries from
all parts of the globe, TIMSS has successfully completed international
assessments of student achievement every four years since 1995, with TIMSS 2027 underway. Currently involving more than 60 countries, PIRLS (the Progress in
International Reading Literacy Study) assesses fourth grade student achievement
in reading literacy on a five-year cycle since 2001. Since the TIMSS 2023 cycle
and the current cycle of PIRLS 2026, both studies have transitioned from paper
and pencil to fully digital assessments.
TIMSS
and PIRLS are sponsored by the IEA (International Association for the
Evaluation of Educational Achievement), an independent international
cooperative of national research institutes and governmental research agencies
headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
This role includes:
Assisting with ensuring the highest standards of quality control for the TIMSS and PIRLS assessment instruments, both international and national.
- Perform localization verification and adjust the national TIMSS and PIRLS assessment instruments from the participating countries to ensure the highest quality. This involves checking the national assessment instruments against the international version; applying corrections as necessary or communicating necessary fixes to the platform provider; commenting on issues to the participating countries and revising until the issues are resolved; checking functionality of the national players; assisting/working with the participating countries during the national instrument localization process. This work requires using the embedded systems functions or applying HTML or CSS code (at least basic understanding of HTML and/or CSS will have a preference).
- Review the international TIMSS and PIRLS assessment instrument players to ensure the highest quality. This involves running multiple versions of players and reporting any issues found.
- Assist the PIRLS and TIMSS content specialists with content building and reviews.
Requirements- Bachelor's degree preferred;
- Skilled in using computers and able to quickly learn new systems/programs and troubleshoot as needed;
- Basic HTML and/or CSS code understanding;
- Basic Google Docs and/or Microsoft Office skills;
- Meticulous attention to detail;
- Able to work under tight timelines and meet high standards of quality;
- Patience for repetitive work; and
- 0-2 years of experience.
Competitive salary commensurate with relevant experience.
This is a temporary position for a 12-month period with a possibility to extend, and the position will begin in September/October.
This is a grant funded position.
Closing StatementBoston College offers a broad and competitive range of benefits depending on your job classification eligibility:
- Tuition remission for Employees
- Tuition remission for Spouses and Children who meet eligibility requirements
- Generous Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- Low-Cost Life Insurance
- Eligibility for both University-Funded 401k and Employer-Sponsored 403b Retirement Plans
- Paid Holidays Annually
- Generous Sick and Vacation Pay
- Additional benefits can be found on https://www.bc.edu/employeehandbook
Boston College conducts pre-employment background checks as part of the hiring process.
Boston College is an equal opportunity employer. In concert with our Jesuit, Catholic mission, Boston College is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty and staff committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment and strongly encourages applications for women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and covered veterans. To learn more about how BC supports diversity and inclusion throughout the university please visit the Office for Institutional Diversity at https://www.bc.edu/diversity.
Boston College's Notice of Nondiscrimination can be viewed at https://www.bc.edu/nondiscrimination.
