Mikyung Wolf is a principal research scientist in the ETS Research Institute. She received her Ph.D. in applied linguistics with specialization in language assessment from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Prior to joining ETS, she was a research associate at the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh and a senior researcher at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, & Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA. Her research interests include technology-enhanced language assessments, alignment among standards, assessments and curricula/instruction, formative assessment, the use of AI in language education, and validity issues in assessing K–12 English language learners in the United States as well as global contexts.
Mikyung has led multiple projects, including examining the validity of content and English language proficiency assessments for English learners and developing classroom-based academic reading assessments for formative purposes, funded by the US Department of Education. Much of her work has focused on the development of new language assessments for young learners, including ELPA21 and California English language proficiency assessments, as well as the TOEFL Junior tests. She was also awarded a multiyear research grant from the William T. Grant Foundation focused on reducing inequalities for English learners.
Mikyung has published numerous articles and edited two books, English Language Proficiency Assessments for Young Learners and Assessing English Language Proficiency in U.S. K–12 Schools. She has also served on various award committees for the International Language Testing Association (ILTA), Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International Association, and the Second Language Research Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). She received the 2019 ILTA Best Article Award and the 2024 AERA Jamal Abedi Best Article Award for Excellence in Research on Inclusion and Accessibility in Educational Assessment. She has served on the technical working group on future directions for writing research at the secondary level, organized by the U.S. Department of Education, and was an invited fellow of the National ELL Policy Group (2015–2018). Mikyung also served on the ILTA Executive Board as a Member-at-Large (2019–2020) and was a founding member and chair of the ILTA Language Assessments for Young Learners SIG. In addition, she is an associate editor of the journal Language Assessment Quarterly.
Last updated: 1/25/2026