Professor Jamal Abedi of the UC Davis School of Education is an expert in the "how-to" of K-12 educational testing. Among the leading scholars in his field, he studies nuisance variables -- things that interfere with students' ability to properly show what they know and can do. Specializing in testing for English-language learners, Abedi looks at testing, and learning disabilities; linguistic and cultural biases of the assessments; the effect of the testing method (e.g. computer, paper-and-pencil, hands-on); the pattern of responses; the effect of format, from font to organization; and the design and wording of questions. The professor is the author of many publications in the assessment of and accommodations for English-language learners. His recent publications include "Language Issues in Item Development" in "The Handbook of Test Development" and "Issues and Consequences for English Language Learners" in "Uses and Misuses of Data for Accountability and Improvement." Abedi is on the advisory committees for several major test-publishing companies and advises a number of states on testing for English-language learners and children with disabilities.