Three ERM doctoral students secured funding to work on their independent research over the summer from the graduate school. Cherie Avant will be investigating the extent to which the values-engage, education (VEE) evaluation approach meaningfully engages issues of culture, diversity and equity in STEM program evaluation. Alexandra Lay will be conducting research on her project, “Noncognitive Skills in Education: Why They’re Important”, and will produce an overview of methods used for noncognitive assessment. Elizabeth Patton is conducting research on the application of Rasch Trees for DIF detection in anticipation of her dissertation.