Management Team

Dr. Bunch oversees MI’s Research and Development Division (R&D) and serves as a director of the corporation. Since joining MI in 1982, he has established MI as a trusted vendor of high-quality test development and related services. He and his staff of more than 80 project directors, psychometricians, editors, content specialists, and support staff have successfully carried out test development, program evaluation, and research activities for 20 state departments of education and numerous local education agencies, corporations, and institutions. His expertise in the development of criterion-referenced, high-stakes testing programs is well known among assessment professionals. His advice in both technical and practical matters related to assessment programs is widely sought, and he contributes regularly to the advancement of those programs through national organizations such as the American Educational Research Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Council on Measurement in Education. He has taught graduate-level statistics and research methods and has been a regular contributor to Mental Measurement Yearbooks since 1985. In 2005, he was recognized by the Buros Institute of Mental Measurements as a Distinguished Reviewer. More recently, he has published, with Dr. Gregory Cizek, the graduate-level text, Standard Setting (Sage Publications, 2007) and is in great demand as a reviewer and discussant for standard-setting research and as a leader of standard-setting activities.

Dr. Bunch earned a Ph.D. degree in psychology (Measurement and Human Differences) from the University of Georgia in 1976. Prior to joining MI in 1982, he served as research psychologist at the American College Testing Program (ACT) and senior professional at NTS Research Corporation. Since joining MI, he has been active not only in the profession but in the Durham community as well, serving on and chairing boards of local education and human service organizations.

Mr. Avila is responsible for financial reporting and other administrative functions of Measurement Incorporated, including payroll, tax compliance, benefit program administration, accounts receivable, and accounts payable. Mr. Avila has a strong background in both large and small business management and in international finance. Prior to joining MI in 1994, he worked as chief operating officer for North Carolina First Flight, Inc., where he developed the company’s business plan and corporate policy, expanded banking relations, managed financial portfolios, provided financial reports, and negotiated multi-million dollar high technology investment deals. He also worked for Carolina Power and Light Company as financial analyst and for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco International, Inc., concerning its financial interests in Latin America. Mr. Avila, a Certified Public Accountant, received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from Georgia Southern University and a Master of International Management in Marketing and Finance from the American Graduate School of International Management.

Mr. Horton supervises the personnel responsible for distribution, collection, storage, and recycling of test materials, and the acquisition and maintenance of physical properties. Mr. Horton joined MI in 1990 as warehouse manager and assumed the role of Facilities Manager in 1994. Prior to joining MI, he had been warehouse supervisor for Redemco Universal Beverage Company in Avon, Massachusetts.

As Senior Vice President of Handscoring at MI for 28 years, Ms. Littlefair was responsible for the management of all the company’s major scoring contracts. She continues to provide invaluable guidance and support in performance assessment scoring. She has assisted numerous state departments of education and other clients in establishing scoring criteria, conducting rangefinding meetings, refining scoring guides, selecting training materials, and supervising the training and scoring process.

Ms. Littlefair earned an M.A. in Education from Antioch College in 1971. Prior to her involvement with Measurement Incorporated, she worked regularly as a consultant for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). She was instrumental in developing NAEP’s writing mechanics guide and also participated in the development of the analytic analysis, cohesion, sentence combining, and primary trait scoring guides. In addition, she assisted in establishing and conducting training and scoring procedures for NAEP’s 1973-79 writing assessment.