Dr. Yaacov Petscher is a Professor of Social Work at Florida State University, an Associate Director of the Florida Center for Reading Research, and the Director the Quantitative Methodology and Innovation Division at FCRR. Yaacov’s work is focused on measurement, causal modeling, the study of individual differences in reading using complex methodologies, and the development of screening assessments and computer adaptive tests. He is the recipient of the 2011 Rebecca Sandak Young Investigator Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, the 2012 Article of the Year Award from Assessment for Effective Intervention, the 2014 Dina Feitelson Research Award from the International Literacy Association, the 2014 Educational Researcher of the Year Award from the Florida Educational Research Association, and a 2017 FSU Innovator Award from Florida State University. He has co-authored nearly 200 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and technical reports and co-edited The Fluency Construct and Applied Quantitative Analysis in Education and the Social Sciences books.

AREAS OF FOCUS

• Applied Quantitative Methods
• Research Design
• Psychometrics
• Reading and Language Development
• Screening and Identification 
• Computer Adaptive Testing 

EDUCATION

• PhD, 2009, Florida State University; Developmental Psychology
• MS, 2005, Florida State University; Measurement and Statistics
• MS, 2004, Florida State University; Educational Psychology
• BS, 2001, Florida State University, Psychology

ADDITIONAL TITLES

Director, Quantitative Methodology and Innovation Division, Florida Center for Reading Research
Deputy Director, National Comprehensive Center to Improve Literacy for Students with Disabilities
Associate Director, Florida Center for Reading Research

PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES

Petscher, Y., & Koon, S. (in press). Moving the needle on multivariate screening: Comparisons between machine learning and logistic regression. Assessment for Effective Intervention.

Petscher, Y., Justice, L., & Hogan, T. (in press). Modeling the early language trajectory of language development when the measures change and its relation to poor reading comprehension. Child Development.

Al Otaiba, S., Petscher, Y., Wanzek, J., Lan P, & Rivas, B. (in press). I?m not throwing away my shot: What Alexander Hamilton can tell us about standard reading interventions. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice.

Catts, H.W., & Petscher, Y. (in press). Early identification of dyslexia: Current advancements and future directions. Perspectives.

Petscher, Y., Foorman, B.R., & Truckenmiller, A.J. (2017). The impact of item dependency on the efficiency of testing and reliability of student scores from a computer adaptive assessment of reading comprehension. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 10, 408-423. Doi: 10.1080/19345747.2016.1178361.

Petscher, Y., Al Otaiba, S., Wanzek, J., Rivas, B., & Jones, F. (2017). The relation between global and specific growth mindset with elementary school students? reading performance. Scientific Study of Reading, 21, 376-391.

Petscher, Y., Quinn, J., & Wagner, R.K. (2016). Modeling the co-development of correlated processes with longitudinal and cross-construct effects. Developmental Psychology, 52, 1690-1704. Doi: 10.1037/dev0000172.

Petscher, Y. (2016). Do our means of inquiry match our intentions? Frontiers in Psychology, 7. Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01048.

Petscher, Y. Mitchell, A., & Foorman, B.R. (2015). Improving the precision of student scores from assessments by using response times: An illustration of conditional item response theory. Reading and Writing, 28, 31-56. DOI: 10.1007/s11145-014-9518-z.

BOOKS PUBLISHED

Cummings, K.D., & Petscher, Y. (Eds.). (2016). The fluency construct. New York: Springer.

Petscher, Y., Schatschneider. C., & Compton, D.L. (Eds). (2013). Applied quantitative analysis in education and social sciences. New York: Routledge.

SELECTED GRANTS

Co-Principal Investigator, Reach Every Reader Project, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; Subcontract to Harvard University. January 1, 2018-December 31, 2022. Total award: $30 million. Principal Investigator Elizabeth City.

Co-Principal Investigator, What Does it Take to Develop Writing Skills for Spanish-speaking English Learners? A Longitudinal Examination of Co-development of Language, Reading, and Writing Skills, Institute of Education Sciences; Subcontract to University of California - Irvine. July 1, 2018-June 30, 2021. Total award: $1.4 million. Principal Investigator Young-Suk Kim.

Co-Principal Investigator, Improving Response to Intervention in Students With or At-Risk of Reading Disabilities, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Subcontract to Vanderbilt University. August 2017-May 2021. Total award: $2.2 million. Principal Investigator Jeanne Wanzek.

Co-Principal Investigator, National Comprehensive Center to Improve Literacy for Students with Disabilities, Office of Special Education Research and Rehabilitative Services; Subcontract to University of Oregon: $1.6 million. October 2016-September 2021. Total award: $7.5 million. Principal Investigator Hank Fien.