Robert Lee Linn (June 29, 1938 – December 8, 2015) was an American

educational psychologist An educational psychologist is a psychologist whose differentiating functions may include diagnostic and psycho-educational assessment, psychological counseling in educational communities ( students, teachers, parents, and academic authoriti ...

who has made notable contributions to the understanding of educational assessments. He studied technical and policy issues relating to the application of test data, and the effects of

high-stakes testing A high-stakes test is a test with important consequences for the test taker. Passing has important benefits, such as a high school diploma, a scholarship, or a license to practice a profession. Failing has important disadvantages, such as being ...

on teaching and learning. He was a professor emeritus at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

, past president of the

American Educational Research Association The American Educational Research Association (AERA, pronounced "A-E-R-A") is a professional organization representing education researchers in the United States and around the world. AERA's mission is to advance knowledge about education and p ...

and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME), and former editor of the '' Journal of Educational Measurement''. He completed his PhD and MA in educational psychology at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. From 1965 until 1973, he held positions as a research scientist and later research division director at

Educational Testing Service Educational Testing Service (ETS), founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization. It is headquartered in Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, Lawrence Township, New Jersey, b ...

in Princeton, NJ. In 1973, he joined the faculty at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana and in 1987 became a professor at the

. Linn died in

La Grange Park, Illinois La Grange Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 13,475. Geography La Grange Park is located at (41.829831, -87.869233). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, La Grange Park ha ...

, in December 2015 at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linn, Robert L. 1938 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American psychologists University of Illinois alumni American educational psychologists