Center For Instructional Research And Curriculum Evaluation (CIRCE)

The Center for Instructional Research and Curriculum Evaluation was organized in 1964 within [Page 48]Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST) the College of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was created to continue the Illinois Office of Statewide Testing (until 1969) and to provide evaluation services to curriculum development activities on campus and elsewhere. It was created in response to U.S. Office of Education interest in locating a research and development center on campus specializing in measurement and evaluation. Tom Hastings, Lee Cronbach, and Jack Easley authored the proposal, but Cronbach left, and the university created the center without federal funding. Hastings was first Director, and Bob Stake succeeded him in 1975. Across the years, the staff has included Claire Brown, Mary Ann Bunda, Rita Davis, Judy Dawson, Terry Denny, Gene Glass, Tom Kerins, Dennis Gooler, Arden Grotelueschen, Mel Hall, Stafford Hood, Terry Hopkins, Ernie House, Gordon Hoke, Stephen Kemmis, Steve Lapin, Bob Linn, Linda Mabry, Tom Maguire, Sandra Mathison, Duncan McQuarrie, Jim Pearsol, Oli Proppe, Jim Raths, Doug Sjogren, Nick Smith, Terry Souchet, Joe Steele, Peter Taylor, Jim Wardrop, and many others.