John Sabatini

Dr. John Sabatini is a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Institute for Intelligent Systems at the University of Memphis. He was formerly a Principal Research Scientist in the Center for Global Research at the Educational Testing Service. His research interests and expertise are in reading literacy development and disabilities, assessment, cognitive psychology, the learning sciences, and educational technology. He has worked with schools on projects exploring the reading, writing, and critical thinking capabilities of adolescents, aiding English language learners to develop reading, language, and content area learning skills, and understanding and instructing adolescents and adults with reading difficulties. He has been the principal investigator of the Institute of Education Sciences funded grants to develop pre-K -12 comprehension assessments, as part of the Reading for Understanding initiative, and to adapt those assessments for use in adult education programs. He has completed an NICHD funded Learning Disabilities Research Center project studying subtypes of reading disabilities in adolescents and an NICHD/Dept of Education/National Institute for Literacy grant studying the relative effectiveness of reading programs for adults. He provides technical and research advice to national and international surveys including the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PISA), the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and National Assessments of Adult Literacy (NAAL).