Samuel Messick


Samuel J. Messick III was an American psychologist who worked for the Educational Testing Service.

Early life

Messick was born on April 3, 1931 in Philadelphia. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor's degree, and he earned a PhD from Princeton University.

Career

Messick worked as a psychologist for the Educational Testing Service. He examined construct validity. Messick influenced language testing in 2 main ways: in proposing a new understanding of how inferences made based on tests must be challenged, and in drawing attention to the consequences of test use.

Death and legacy

Messick resided in Pennington, New Jersey. He died on October 6, 1998 in Philadelphia, at 67.
Division 5 of the American Psychological Association named the annual Samuel J. Messick Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award in his honor. One of his collaborators, Douglas N. Jackson, won the award in 2004.

Works