Faculty Directory
Diana Pullin
Professor Emerita
Diana Pullin
Ph.D., J.D.
Contact
Email: pullin@bc.edu
Education
- Ph.D., J.D., University of Iowa
- B.A., Grinnell College
Research Interests
Education law and public policy; testing and the law; opportunity to learn; educator quality; accountability in higher education; impact of social science research on legal and public policy decisions in education.
Dr. Pullin is not currently accepting Ph.D. students.
Department
Profile
Diana Pullin is esteemed as both a lawyer and scholar, and the range of her expertise reflects her experience: she has published extensively on public policy and testing, educational leadership and teaching, and the impact of social science on legal decisions in education.
Pullin has taught at the Lynch School since 1994, where she served as Dean from 1987 to 1994. She has been admitted to practice law in three states as well as various federal trial and appellate courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. In the courtroom, she participated in litigation challenging the use of minimum competency tests to determine the award of high school diplomas and worked on the early implementation of state and federal laws barring discrimination on the basis of disability status and gender.
She is co-author of many books, chapters, and journal articles, including the 1999 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, published by the American Educational Research Association. She received her bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College, and her master’s, doctoral, and law degrees from the University of Iowa.
Pullin is a Fellow of American Educational Research Association (elected), a lifetime associate member of National Academy of Sciences (elected), and an elected member of the National Academy of Education. From 2015 to 2016, she was Chair of a committee to review the application of a new college for the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education.
GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT
Research partnership with the Learning Sciences Institute of Australian Catholic University and a consortium of higher education institutions on the implementation and legal issues concerning a performance assessment for graduation and licensure in teacher education
Select Publications
- Pullin, D. (2022). Do standards promote fairness and legitimacy in the changing marketplace for testing? Fairness in educational and psychological testing: Examining theoretical, research, practice and policy implications of the 2014 Standards (Jonson, J., and Geisinger, K, eds.). (pp. 61-88). American Educational Research Association.
- Cumming, J., & Pullin, D. (2022). Teaching performance assessments and considerations of potential legal challenges. Professionalizing teacher education: Performance assessment, standards, moderation, and evidence (Wyatt-Smith, C., Adie, L., Haynes, M., and Day, eds). (pp. 90- 105). Rutledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
- Pullin, D. & Cumming, J. (2022). Teaching performance assessments and considerations of fairness. Professionalizing teacher education: Performance assessment, standards, moderation, and evidence (Wyatt-Smith, C., Adie, L., Haynes, M., and Day, eds). (pp. 193- 220). Rutledge, Taylor & Francis Group
- Committee for the Five-Year (2009-2013) Summative Evaluation of the District of Columbia Public Schools (2015). An evaluation of the public schools of the District of Columbia: Reform in a changing landscape. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press (Co-author as a member of the committee)
- Pullin, D. (2015, August 31). Performance measures for teachers and teacher education: Corporate education reform opens the door to new legal issues. Education policy analysis archives 23:81. Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v23.1980.
- Pullin, D. (2014, Winter). Professional test standards in the eyes of the law. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice 33:4, pp. 19-21.
- Pullin, D. (2013). Legal issues in the use of student test scores and value-added models (VAM) to determine educational quality. Education Policy Analysis Archives, North America, 21, Jan. 2013. Available at: http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/1160.
- Margetta Morgan, J. & Pullin, D. (2010, October). Social science and the courts: Challenges and strategies for bridging gaps between law and research . Educational Researcher. 39:7, 515-524.
- Moss, P., D. Pullin, Gee, J., Haertel, E., & Young, L., eds.(2008). Assessment, equity, and opportunity to learn. Cambridge University Press.
- Pullin, D. (2004, September/October). Accountability, autonomy, and academic freedom in educator preparation programs. Journal of Teacher Education 55:4, pp. 300-312
Awards and Honors
- (2017) Member, National Academy of Education
- (2016) Visiting Scholar, Learning sciences Institute Australia, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane
- (2011) National Associate, National Academy of Sciences
- (2009) Fellow, American Educational Research Association
- (2008) Resident Fellow, Spencer Foundation
- (2004, May) Distinguished Teacher Award, Boston College
Recent Professional and Public Service Activities
- Member, Board on Testing and Assessment, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C.
- Member, Committee for a Five Year Summative Evaulation of the Washington, D.C. Public Schools, National Research Council
- Associate Editor, Educational Policy
- Fellows Committee, Ethics Committee, American Educational Research Association