2026 NCBE Research Award Recipients Announced

Press Release

MADISON, WISCONSIN, February 6, 2026—The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) has announced the 2026 recipients of two awards that provide funding for research related to testing and measurement, with a particular focus on research related to high-stakes licensure testing such as the bar exam.

NCBE’s Joe E. Covington Award for Research on Testing for Licensure honors Joe E. Covington, a former dean of the University of Missouri–Columbia School of Law who was the first Director of Testing for NCBE. The award is intended to provide support for graduate students in any discipline doing research germane to testing and measurement, particularly in a high-stakes licensure setting.

The 2026 Covington Award winner is Mirai Nagasawa of the University of Alabama, whose proposal is titled “Sensitivity of Residual PCA in MFRM: Design-Based Missingness and Aggregation.” This work aligns with NCBE’s interest in IRT models for tests involving raters and addresses a practical challenge in high-stakes contexts where fully crossed rating designs are often not feasible.

The NCBE Validity and Fairness Research Award was conceived by Hon. Phyllis D. Thompson, a judge on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals since 2006. Judge Thompson is a former member of the NCBE Board of Trustees and of the Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. This award is intended to provide support for graduate students and faculty in any discipline whose research identifies aspects of validity evidence including, but not limited to, scoring, response processes, and the impact of licensure and certification testing.

The 2026 Validity and Fairness Research Award winner is Roza Nalbandyan of Harvard University, whose proposal is entitled “Emotional Engagement and Response Processes Underlying Performance Assessment of Critical Thinking: Methods and Evidence with Implications for Professional Licensure Testing.” The project investigates fundamental validity questions about the alignment of examinees’ cognitive and affective processes with intended constructs, as well as whether scores can be compared fairly across rating contexts and cultural backgrounds. This work may provide practical solutions for score comparability issues in licensure testing programs, as well as contributing to validity research on distinguishing culturally influenced communication styles from underlying professional competencies.

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About the National Conference of Bar Examiners

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1931. NCBE promotes fairness, integrity, and best practices in bar admissions for the benefit and protection of the public, in pursuit of its vision of a competent, ethical, and diverse legal profession. Best known for developing bar exam content used by 54 US jurisdictions, NCBE serves admission authorities, courts, the legal education community, and candidates by providing high-quality assessment products, services, and research; character investigations; and informational and educational resources and programs. In 2026, NCBE will launch the next generation of the bar examination, ensuring that the exam continues to test the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for competent entry-level legal practice in a changing profession. For more information, visit the NCBE website at https://www.ncbex.org.