Fumiko Samejima

Fumiko Samejima
BornDecember 25th, 1930
Tokyo, Japan
DiedCirca 2021
CitizenshipJapanese
Occupation(s)Professor Emeritus at University of Tennessee, Psychology Department
Academic background
Alma materKeio University
Doctoral advisorTarow Indow
Academic work
DisciplinePhD in Psychology
Sub-disciplinePsychometrics

Fumiko Samejima (1930–c2021) was a prominent Japanese-born psychometrician best known for her development of the Graded Response Model (GRM)[1], a fundamental approach in Item Response Theory (IRT). Her innovative methods became influential in psychological and educational measurement, particularly in improving the accuracy of tests involving Likert-scale questions and other graded responses. She published her seminal paper “Estimation of Latent Ability Using a Response Pattern of Graded Scores” in 1969.[2] This publication became a foundational reference in psychometric literature, significantly advancing the analysis of ordered categorical data.[3]

Fumiko served as President of the Psychometric Society (1996-1997)[4]. She also received various awards during her life including Outstanding Technical Contribution from the National Council on Measurement in Education (1991)[5].

  1. ^ Ackerman, Terry (1998). "Review of Handbook of Modern Item Response Theory". Journal of Educational Measurement. 35 (4): 346–351. ISSN 0022-0655. JSTOR 1435310.
  2. ^ Samejima, Fumi (1968). "Estimation of Latent Ability Using a Response Pattern of Graded Scores1". ETS Research Bulletin Series. 1968 (1). doi:10.1002/j.2333-8504.1968.tb00153.x. ISSN 0424-6144.
  3. ^ Wainer, Howard; Robinson, Daniel H. (2007). "Fumiko Samejima". Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics. 32 (2): 206–222. doi:10.3102/1076998607301991.
  4. ^ Anderson, Carolyn J.; Embretson, Susan; Meulman, Jacqueline; Moustaki, Irini; von Davier, Alina A.; Wiberg, Marie; Yan, Duanli (2020), Wiberg, Marie; Molenaar, Dylan; González, Jorge; Böckenholt, Ulf (eds.), "Stories of Successful Careers in Psychometrics and What We Can Learn from Them", Quantitative Psychology, vol. 322, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–17, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-43469-4_1, ISBN 978-3-030-43468-7, retrieved 2024-10-08
  5. ^ "Awards - NCME". www.ncme.org. Retrieved 2024-10-08.