Bio


Dr. Guillermo Solano-Flores is Professor of Education at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education. His research focuses on the intersection of assessment, cultural and linguistic diversity, and fairness. This research is relevant to the testing of students who are not proficient in English in the U.S., students from different countries in the context of international comparisons, and students with disabilities. His research is based on the use of multidisciplinary approaches that use psychometrics, sociolinguistics, semiotics, and cognitive science in combination. He is the author of the theory of test translation error, which addresses testing across cultures and languages. Also, he has investigated the use of generalizability theory—a psychometric theory of measurement error—in the testing of English language learners and indigenous populations, and the use of Boolean algebra in complex coding endeavors. He has advised Latin American countries on the development of national assessment systems and has been the advisor to countries in Latin America, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Northern Africa on the adaptation and translation of performance tasks into multiple languages. Current research projects examine academic language and testing, formative assessment practices for culturally diverse science classrooms, and the design and use of testing accommodations and accessibility resources for students with special needs in computer-administered tests. He serves in the National Assessment Governing Board in the position of testing and measurement expert and has been member of technical advisory boards for several assessment projects and institutions, including the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the National Academy of Education, and the Department of Education of Hawaii.

Academic Appointments


Research Interests


  • Assessment, Testing and Measurement
  • Diversity and Identity
  • Equity in Education
  • International and Comparative Education
  • Leadership and Organization
  • Learning Differences
  • Literacy and Language
  • Math Education
  • Research Methods
  • Science Education
  • Special Education
  • Standards

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


Current research projects examine academic language and testing, formative assessment practices for culturally diverse science classrooms, and the design and use of illustrations in international test comparisons and in the testing of English language learners.

All Publications


  • Long-term English learners’ mathematics course trajectories: downstream consequences of early remediation on college preparation International Multilingual Research Journal Biernacki, P. J., Altavilla, J., Kanopka, K., Hsieh, H., Solano-Flores, G. 2022
  • Academic achievement in a language revitalisation context: a study on the influence of language and socioeconomic factors JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT Altavilla, J., Elosua, P., Solano-Flores, G. 2021
  • Testing across languages in international comparisons: cultural adaptation of consensus-based test translation review procedures JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT Zhao, X., Solano-Flores, G. 2020
  • Boolean Analysis of Interobserver Agreement: Formal and Functional Evidence Sampling in Complex Coding Endeavors EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT-ISSUES AND PRACTICE Solano-Flores, G. 2020

    View details for DOI 10.1111/emip.12409

    View details for Web of Science ID 000591852600001

  • Design and use of pop-up illustration glossaries as accessibility resources for second language learners in computer-administered tests in a large-scale assessment system INTERNATIONAL MULTILINGUAL RESEARCH JOURNAL Solano-Flores, G., Chia, M., Kachchaf, R. 2019; 13 (4): 277–93
  • International Test Comparisons: Reviewing Translation Error in Different Source Language-Target Language Combinations INTERNATIONAL MULTILINGUAL RESEARCH JOURNAL Zhao, X., Solano-Flores, G., Qian, M. 2018; 12 (1): 17–27
  • International Test Comparisons: Reviewing Translation Error in Different Source Language-Target Language Combinations International Multilingual Research Journal Zhao, X., Solano-Flores, G., Qian, M. 2018; 12 (1): 17-27
  • International semiotics: Item difficulty and the complexity of science item illustrations in the PISA-2009 international test comparison International Journal of Testing Solano-Flores, G., Wang, C., Shade, C. 2016; 16 (3): 205-219
  • Assessment capacity, cultural validity and consequential validity in PISA RELIEVE Solano-Flores, G., Milbourn, T. 2016; 22: M12
  • Complexity of Illustrations in PISA 2009 Science Items and Its Relationship to the Performance of Students from Shanghai-China, the United States, and Mexico. Teachers College Record Solano-Flores, G., Wang, C. 2015; 117 (1): n1
  • Language shift and the inclusion of indigenous populations in large-scale assessment programs International Journal of Testing Solano-Flores, G., Backhoff, E., Contreras-Niño, L. A., Vázquez-Muñoz, M. 2015; 15 (2): 136-152
  • The effects of content, format, and inquiry level on science performance assessment scores APPLIED MEASUREMENT IN EDUCATION Stecher, B. M., Klein, S. P., Solano-Flores, G., McCaffrey, D., Robyn, A., SHAVELSON, R. J., HAERTEL, E. 2000; 13 (2): 139-160
  • On the development and evaluation of a shell for generating science performance assessments INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION Solano-Flores, G., Jovanovic, J., SHAVELSON, R. J., Bachman, M. 1999; 21 (3): 293-315
  • Toward a science performance assessment technology 7th EARLI Conference SHAVELSON, R. J., Solano-Flores, G., Ruiz-Primo, M. A. PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. 1998: 171–84
  • Gender and racial/ethnic differences on performance assessments in science EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION AND POLICY ANALYSIS Klein, S. P., Jovanovic, J., Stecher, B. M., McCaffrey, D., SHAVELSON, R. J., HAERTEL, E., SOLANOFLORES, G., Comfort, K. 1997; 19 (2): 83-97